Buses: Fuels

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost per litre to bus fleet operators of  (a) bioethanol,  (b) biodiesel,  (c) liquid petroleum gas and  (d) diesel.

Gillian Merron: The price they pay for fuel is a commercial matter for each operator and varies according to each operator's supply arrangements and fluctuations in international commodity prices.
	Operators of local bus services benefit significantly under the Department's Bus Service Operator's Grant scheme (BSOG) which help keeps fuel costs down by reimbursing fuel duty paid on the fuel. The current rates of BSOG, increased following the pre-Budget report on 6 December, are as follows:
	
		
			   Pence per litre 
			 Bioethanol 28.35 
			 Biodiesel 28.35 
			 Liquid petroleum gas 12.21 
			 Diesel (ultra low sulphur) 39.21 
		
	
	In the case of the first three fuels listed the rate is equivalent to 100 per cent. of fuel duty; in the case of ultra low sulphur diesel it is equivalent to 81 per cent. of the duty.

Buses: Fuels

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures have been taken by his Department since 2001 to encourage  (a) local authorities and  (b) bus companies to use low-emission buses; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Reduced Pollution Scheme provides reductions in vehicle excise duty for buses and heavy goods vehicles that meet particulate emissions standards that are more stringent than those required at the time of manufacture.
	We have introduced through the Bus Service Operators Grant scheme a 100 per cent. rebate of the fuel duty paid by bus operators when they use biodiesel. Bus operators who use gas-powered buses also receive a 100 per cent. rebate of fuel duty.
	The Government have on 12 December published a document on bus policy: Putting Passengers First, which sets out the Government's proposals for improving bus services. This considers, among other things, the issue of whether and how support for bus services might be changed to focus upon performance and environmental outcomes.

Railways

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the improvement of local rail services in South East London following the transfer of Eurostar services to St Pancras in 2007.

Tom Harris: Once Eurostar services transfer to St. Pancras in November 2007, the train paths previously used by the international services will be used by Southeastern to provide additional capacity on the network. 34 additional trains will operate between London Victoria and Beckenham Junction on weekdays and 48 additional trains will operate over the same route on Saturdays.

Railways

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response he has made to the findings of the National Rail Review for Quarter Two regarding the condition and availability of facilities and services at small and medium-sized rail stations.

Tom Harris: The Department has noted the comments made in the Review.
	The Department has initiated a working group with Network Rail, the Association of Train Operating Companies and Passenger Focus to use passenger research to provide guidance to the industry stakeholders on the range of facilities that passengers expect at stations. Network Rail is developing a prioritised delivery plan for improvements to local stations. To expedite this, operators will be encouraged to sign up to the Office of Rail Regulation's new "Stations Code", which simplifies and strengthens contractual responsibilities between Network Rail and train operating companies for station maintenance and renewal works.
	At many smaller stations, locally initiated schemes will deliver further improvements through partnerships between operators, local authorities and third parties. This has been achieved by the "Riviera Project" in Devon and Cornwall and "Carnforth Connect" in Lancashire.
	The "Access for All" investment programme for improving accessibility at stations is progressing with 92 stations in England and Wales being named to receive assessments for making them fully accessible. Work has been approved at an additional 418 stations as a part of the "Small Schemes" programme for station accessibility improvements.

Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of ship to ship oil transfers which take place outside harbour areas in the North Sea.

Stephen Ladyman: The current situation is that, in UK territorial waters (outside harbour authority areas), the Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency has non-statutory arrangements and procedures under which ship owners and operators are expected to notify the Maritime and Coastguard Agency of the intention to carry out a ship-to-ship transfer, and to carry out such transfers according to best practice. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency monitors the conduct of such ship-to-ship transfers.
	For the future, secondary legislation which will regulate ship-to-ship transfers within the limits of the UK's territorial sea remains in preparation. The Department expects to be in a position to consult on it early in 2007, with a view to its coming into force in late spring/early summer 2007.

Credit Card Companies

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make representations to UK credit card companies to cease the practice of issuing unsolicited cheques to account holders.

Ian McCartney: DTI carried out a consultation to look at whether specific regulatory measures were needed to govern the marketing and issuing of credit card cheques at the end of last year. At this stage we do not believe banning is a proportionate response. The important point is that consumers get the information they need and are not misled into using the product when it might not the best form of credit for them to use.
	We welcome the additional information that credit card issuers have agreed to provide to customers following the consultation. This will come in the form of a summary box and will include information about how to opt-out of receiving cheques. This requirement will form part of the new banking code when re-written in 2007, with all APACs members likely to comply by the end of this year. We will keep this matter under review.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff were employed through employment agencies in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Departmental policy is that agency staff are engaged where it is not possible to source the skills for the task from within the Department but the expectation is that the appointment would be time-limited.
	Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	I have asked the Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 12 December 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2006/135) asking how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in the Department and each of its agencies in the last five years for which information is available; and what the average and longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.
	The number of agency staff engaged by The Insolvency Service at the end of the financial year 2005-06 was 390. Information on the average and longest period of engagement could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on agency staff has only been held centrally since January 2005. Information on years prior to 2005-06 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	 Letter from Tim Moss, dated 12 December 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of Companies House to your question regarding how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.
	The following table provides information on staff employed by Companies House through an employment agency over the last five years.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number  Average time?estimate (weeks)  Longest period (weeks) 
			 2006-07 5 1 26 
			 2005-06 8 12 16 
			 2004-05 4 12 26 
			 2003-04 2 1 1 
			 2002-03 2 1 1 
		
	
	 Letter from Iain MacGregor, dated 12 December 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.
	The National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) have employed the following staff through employment agencies in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   Staff employed 
			 2002 1 person (for 3 days) 
			 2003 1 person (for 6 days) 
			 2004 3 people (longest = 95 days, average = 47 days) 
			 2005 1 person (for 90 days) 
			 2006 2 people (longest = 7 days, average = 6.5 days) 
		
	
	 Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 12 December 2006:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many staff were employed on a consultancy basis in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest period was for which a consultant was employed in each year.
	The breakdown of staff numbers employed through employment agencies for the last five financial years and the average time are as follows:
	
		
			   Number  Average (weeks) 
			 2005-06 80 18 
			 2004-05 73 17 
			 2003-04 109 15 
			 2002-03 44 30 
			 2001-02 39 33 
		
	
	At least one person was employed for a full year in each of the financial years.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether people employed  (a) through employment agencies and  (b) on a consultancy basis are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in his Department's annual report.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is DTI policy that people employed  (a) through employment agencies and  (b) on a consultancy basis, are included in the totals for the full-time equivalent staff reported in the Department's annual report.
	 Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 12 December 2006:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether people employed (a) through employment agencies and (b) on a consultancy basis are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in the Department's annual report.
	All staff engaged in the activities of the Patent Office, including those employed through agencies or any other contractors under our direction, are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in our annual accounts.
	 Letter from Iain MacGregor, dated 12 December 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.
	People employed (a) through employment agencies and (b) on a consultancy basis are not included by The National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in the Department's annual report.
	 Letter from Tim Moss, dated 12 December 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of Companies House to your question regarding whether people employed (a) through employment agencies and (b) on a consultancy basis are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in his Department's annual report.
	Where Companies House has engaged:
	(a) Individuals via an employment agency—these are included in all headcount and full-time equivalent figures; and
	(b) Individuals on a consultancy basis—then as we are procuring a specific and often specialised service we do not include this provision on our headcount or full-time equivalent figures.
	When using an employment agency Companies House uses a preferred list of employment agencies covering all business functions. The list has been compiled following negotiations of service provision within function and commission costs.
	 Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 12 December 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (137/2006), asking whether people employed (a) through employment agencies and (b) on a consultancy basis are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in his Department's annual report.
	In its Annual Report, The Insolvency Service publishes figures based on permanent and casual staff and since 2004-05 we have also published separate figures for non-permanent staff, which includes loanees, Short Term Appointees, and agency staff. The Service's Annual Report does not include in its full time equivalent calculation figures for the number of consultants engaged from time to time.

Fuel Poverty

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are living in fuel poverty in North-East Fife; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: Fuel poverty is devolved to the Scottish Executive, and falls within the portfolio of the Minister for Communities.
	According to the Scottish House Condition Survey around 328,000 households were living in fuel poverty in Scotland in 2003-04, which represents 14.5 per cent. of Scottish households. Scottish fuel poverty statistics are not available for North East Fife for 2003-04. The 2002 Scottish House Condition Survey contains the most recent information broken down by local authority area and shows that in 2002 it is estimated that there were 17,000 fuel poor households in the area of Fife.

Imperial Units

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the use of imperial units after 31st December 2009.

Ian McCartney: Directive 80/181/EEC currently permits the use of supplementary indications until 31 December 2006. Article 6a of the directive requires a further examination of the implementation of the directive, and in particular the matter of supplementary indications. We understand that the European Commission is currently carrying out this examination and expects to publish a consultation paper shortly.

Pedlars Act

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received to repeal or amend the Pedlars Act 1871; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 11 December 2006
	The Department received representations seeking the repeal of the Pedlars Acts from the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Markets Industry (APPG) in February 2006. Officials from the Department met the Group to discuss the matter. I understand that similar representations were made to ministerial colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the status is of each second round offshore windfarm project application; what steps have been put in place to ensure that these applications will be dealt with expeditiously; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department is considering consent applications for seven of the round 2 offshore wind farm projects: London Array, Greater Gabbard, Thanet, Gwynt y Mor, Walney, West of Duddon Sands and Sheringham Shoal.
	The Department works closely with other Government Departments, statutory consultees and others with an interest in the projects to ensure the decision-making process is managed as efficiently and expeditiously as possible. It is in no-one's interest to delay decision-making on projects where there is no justification for doing so. However, it is important to ensure that consent decisions are robust and are taken on the basis of a thorough consideration of all the issues raised during consultation.

Children: Day Care

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make nursery vouchers available to hon. Members who are parents of young children.

Jack Straw: I have commissioned a paper on the costs of a nursery voucher scheme for Members. This will be considered by the Members Estimates Committee shortly.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Leader of the House what plans he has to alter the  (a) salaries of,  (b) number of support staff available to and  (c) office space provided to his special advisers in the next 12 months.

Jack Straw: None.

International Assistance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what ways his Department will work with  (a) other donor agencies and  (b) international finance institutions to meet the two targets agreed at the recent Microcredit Campaign Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia relating to (i) extending credit for self-employment and other financial services to the world's poorest families and (ii) ensuring such families cross the $1 a day threshold by 2015.

Hilary Benn: DFID agrees that access to financial services by poor people will help to lift them out of poverty and to meet the millennium development goal of halving the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day.
	The role of the financial sector in poverty reduction and growth is now well documented: financial sectors that reach more poor people have been shown to not only stimulate economic growth, but also to share the benefits of that growth more equitably and reduce poverty.
	The UK's 2006 White Paper on International Development commits DFID to tackling barriers to access to markets and financial services, and supporting access to finance initiatives in partnership with banks and regulators.
	DFID is sympathetic to the goals of the Microcredit Summit Campaign and is extending its efforts to the wider agenda of expanding access to financial services for poor people. It is estimated that two billion people in developing countries do not have a bank account or access to formal financial services.
	DFID will continue to work with other donors and international financial institutions (IFIs) at policy, technical, and operational levels that all contribute to increasing the number of poor people benefiting from financial services, including credit.
	For example, at the policy and technical level, DFID is funding CGAP, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor that is co-ordinating the activities of its 33 members, donors and IFIs.
	At the operational level, DFID has nine financial sector programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, most of them in partnership with other donors and IFIs.
	With respect to ensuring that the poorest families cross the threshold of $1 a day, an integrated approach is needed to achieve this target, including providing resources for education, health and other services. DFID and international financial institutions will continue to spend significant resources on education, health and other programmes of direct relevance, in addition to microfinance, to improving the lives of poor families.
	For example, DFID is contributing £16.2 million to a programme with BRAC, a leading microfinance bank in Bangladesh, called "Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction" that provides a number of services in addition to microcredit to more than 100,000 poor people.

Light Bulbs

Peter Soulsby: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what proportion of light bulbs used on the House of Commons estate were manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Nick Harvey: It is difficult to give a precise answer as purchases are made by contractors and by the Parliamentary Works Services Directorate. However, it is estimated that approximately 45 per cent. of tubes and lamps across the parliamentary estate are manufactured in the United Kingdom.
	We seek best value for money in terms of unit price, "life expectancy", energy usage, performance, etc. While we purchase exclusively from United Kingdom wholesalers, in some cases their supplies come from outside the UK.

Copyright

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from members of the music industry in favour of the extension of the 50 year copyright rule.

Shaun Woodward: Andrew Gowers' review of intellectual property was announced in December 2005, DCMS has received a range of written and oral representations from the music industry in favour of such an extension. It also received representations from individuals and other organisations against such a move. Although the Department exercises a sponsorship role for the music industry, policy responsibility for intellectual property matters rests with the Patent Office, to which these representations have been passed. In addition, representations on this issue were made by interested parties directly to the Gowers Review team.

Departmental Staff

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the effective date is for annual pay awards to her Department's staff; and what the actual implementation date has been in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The effective date for annual pay awards for DCMS staff is 1 August. In each of the last five years they have been paid in November.

Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by her Department on furniture made by British firms in each year since 2000.

David Lammy: Since 2000, DCMS has purchased furniture from both British and non British firms but we do not hold information to enable us separately to identify how much was spent on British made furniture.

Gershon Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much efficiency savings she has made in her Department and its associated public bodies; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Latest interim data returns indicate that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has delivered a total of £158.9 million in efficiency gains as at 30 September 2006. This breaks down as £70.4 million from local authorities and £88.5 million from NDPBs. Verified data will be included in the Department's Autumn Performance Report, to be published shortly.

Licensing Laws

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made in its review of the Guidance issued to Licensing Authorities on the discharge of their functions under the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Following representations from local authorities, we have adjusted our timetable for consultation on the draft revised guidance. This is to fit with the statutory requirement for local authorities to review their licensing policies every three years. The Secretary of State now expects to begin the public consultation exercise in January 2007 with a view to issuing the final revised guidance in spring 2007. This should allow licensing authorities to make any necessary changes to their licensing policies and consult on them once before the next three year licensing policy period begins in January 2008. Earlier consultation may have resulted in licensing authorities having to consult twice before that date.

London Olympics

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to increase the medal take by British athletics during the 2012 Olympics; and at what estimated cost.

Richard Caborn: UK Sport, the Government's high performance sports agency, is closely involved in the development of the sport of athletics as it seeks to increase its medal potential in the lead up to both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
	UK Sport ensures that the governing body UK Athletics has a dedicated performance plan in place and that it is regularly scrutinized, in particular through a monthly meeting with the performance director and regular contact with key performance staff. UK Sport is also actively involved in senior appointments, including the current recruitment of the new CEO and chair for UK Athletics. In addition it has a member of staff with responsibility for monitoring progress in the sport and intervening where appropriate.
	To support this activity, in April this year, UK Sport announced a funding increase of £1,591,000 to UK Athletics to cover athlete preparation and training for the period 2006 to 2009. This takes the total investment in Athletics in that period to £20,377,000. While the majority of that funding is geared towards supporting athlete success at the Beijing Olympic games, a proportion will also be used to ensure that talented athletes are identified and developed ahead of London 2012. Investment in athletics for the period 2009 to 2013 (the London Olympic 'cycle') will be determined following the Beijing games in early 2009.

London Olympics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultation her Department is undertaking in connection with Olympic training camps.

Richard Caborn: My Department has not been directly involved in consultation in connection with Olympic Training Camps.
	The London Organising Committee for the Olympic games and Paralympic games (LOCOG) is preparing a Pre-Games Training Guide, for National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees, in which facilities that they have approved as providing a suitable training environment in the UK are listed by location and by sport. The development of this guide is being overseen by a steering group, which includes non departmental public bodies, UK Sport and Sport England.

London Olympics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultation she has undertaken regarding the proposed Olympic equestrian venue at Greenwich Park; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games has consulted the national governing body for equestrian sport, the British Equestrian Federation, which incorporates 13 equestrian organisations including British Eventing, and the international governing body, the Federation Equestre Internationale, in relation to the Olympic equestrian venue. During the bid to host the Games, the British Equestrian Federation undertook a feasibility study to identify potential sites to host the equestrian events, and selected Greenwich Park as the most suitable venue. Their considerations took into account the required proximity to the Olympic Park site, which was a key factor for the International Olympic Committee.

London Olympics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding the Government has given to each Olympic training camp, broken down by sport.

Richard Caborn: Responsibility for coordinating training camps lies with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the British Olympic Association (BOA).
	Each National Olympic Committees (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) will choose where to base their training camps. To help with their decision making process LOCOG are required to provide a 'Pre Games Training Camp Guide' where facilities that they have approved as providing a suitable training environment in the UK are listed by location and by sport.
	LOCOG have released details on their website, inviting expressions of interest from potential host facilities. Applications can be made on the London 2012 website until 31 January 2006:
	www.london2012.com/trainingcamps.
	Applications will initially be assessed locally with selection coordinated by each nation and region. Part of the criteria for assessment that will be used requires that facilities are already built and will not require funding, any potential usage for training and preparation camps should be regarded as added value, rather than a core element of the case for funding.
	The Organising Committee have however announced the training camp fund to encourage teams to use training camp facilities in the UK in advance of the Games. The contributions will enable all 203 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the 161 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) to apply for a contribution of up to £26,000 towards the cost of preparing their athletes at UK designated pre-Games training camps.
	A proposed list of facilities will be submitted to LOCOG for final selection by January 2007, and the guide will be distributed to NOCs and NPCs in July 2008.

National Lottery

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications were received for membership of the Big Lottery Board; how many candidates were short-listed; how many were interviewed; and how many were appointed, broken down by declared membership of each political party in each case.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 11 December 2006
	A total of 428 applications to the board of the Big Lottery Fund were received; 48 candidates were short-listed; 43 candidates were interviewed and 12 candidates were appointed.
	Details of political affiliation constitute personal information which we have undertaken for the non-appointed candidates to keep confidential, in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). Under the OCPA Code, candidates are asked to provide details of political activity. They may, but are not required to, produce details about party membership. Details of party membership of the appointed Board members were published in the interest of being open and transparent and with Board members consent. Five of the appointed Board members declared themselves to be members of the Labour party.
	Decisions on whom to appoint were based on merit, following an open competition which was scrutinised by an OCPA trained independent assessor. Political activity played no part in the selection process. No information about party affiliations was included in the papers that were submitted to Ministers about the appointments.

Public Opinion Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on commissioning public opinion research in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: Public opinion research is research specifically designed to assess the public's response to policy or services. Where projects have a wider aim than this, it is not always possible to identify separately the elements of research that fall into this category. I have therefore included in the estimates in the table the total cost of those studies where opinions were sought, even where this formed only a portion of the research. Our records indicate the following levels of spending for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. We do not have sufficient information to provide comparable data for earlier years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 128,250 
			 2005-06 404,615 
			 2004-05 561,095

UK School Games

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she plans to use to decide the location of the UK school games up to 2012.

Richard Caborn: The criteria issued by the Millennium Commission for applications from cities wishing to host the UK school games in 2007 to 2011 were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 14 November Following the winding up of the Millennium Commission on 30 November, the Big Lottery Fund is now responsible for the arrangements for the assessment and final selection of the cities.

Financial Services Industry

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the Government are taking to promote the long-term prospects for the financial services industry in Scotland.

Douglas Alexander: This Government are committed to ensuring our financial services sector can build on its continuing success. We will work with the industry in the new Financial Services Task Force. However, the single most important thing we can do is to maintain the economic strength and stability we have delivered since 1997.

Armoured Vehicles

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many complaints from service personnel about armoured vehicles in Afghanistan have been recorded in the past six months;
	(2)  how many complaints from service personnel about armoured vehicles in Iraq have been recorded in the past six months.

Adam Ingram: The MOD greatly values and actively encourages feedback from personnel on how equipment is performing, so that lessons can be learnt and improvements made where a need is identified. There are a number of ways available for members of the armed forces to raise issues, faults and suggestions for improvement to equipment, but there is no requirement to collate and hold such information centrally.
	Data is, however, held on equipment failure reports (EFRs) and serious equipment failure reports (SEFs) and the data for the period covering 1 May to 31 October 2006 from Afghanistan and Iraq is shown in the following table. EFRs and SEFs are not technically complaints; they are the reporting mechanism used by units for routine equipment support issues. The data does not account for the results of subsequent investigations and therefore does not differentiate between what has actually been proven to be equipment failure, as opposed to operator error or damage sustained as a result of operations. Nor does this data give the severity of any such failures which in many cases have no discernable impact on operational capability or safety.
	The armoured vehicle fleet is currently meeting all operational commitments.
	
		
			  Equipment type  Number of equipment failure reports  Number of serious equipment failure reports 
			  Afghanistan—1 May2006 to 31 October 2006   
			 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) 56 0 
			 Saxon 2 0 
			
			  Iraq—1 May 2006 to 31 October 2006   
			 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank 132 1 
			 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) 16 0 
			 Challenger Repair and Recovery Vehicle 13 0 
			 FV 430 Series 2 0 
			 Saxon 2 0 
			 Warrior 224 8

Compulsory Discharge

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces in each service were compulsorily discharged in each year since 1997-98, broken down by  (a) senior and  (b) junior officer and (i) senior and (ii) junior ranks.

Derek Twigg: The following tables show outflow from trained strength to civil life of UK regular forces since financial year 1997-98 for reasons which may be deemed to include compulsory discharge, broken down by NATO Rank groupings.
	
		
			  Officers 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Services no longer required and disciplinary( 1) 10 20 40 20 20 10 20 30 (2)40 
			  Naval Service 10 10 20 10 0 10 10 20 30 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 
			 OF-l toOF-3 10 10 10 10 0 10 10 20 20 
			  Army 0 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 0 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OF-1 toOF-3 0 10 10 0 10 10 10 10 0 
			  RAF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			   
			  Medical( 3) 50 60 60 60 50 50 60 70 (2)60 
			  Naval Service 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 10 10 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 
			  Army 20 30 20 20 10 20 10 30 20 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 20 20 20 10 10 10 10 20 10 
			  RAF 10 20 10 20 20 10 30 20 (2)20 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 (2)0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 10 20 10 20 10 10 20 20 (2)20 
			   
			  Redundancy( 4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			  Naval Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Army 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  RAF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			   
			  Time Expiry( 5) 1,080 1,060 900 850 820 790 760 880 (2)880 
			  Naval Service 290 260 220 200 180 180 190 190 190 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 80 90 80 70 80 80 80 80 80 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 210 170 140 120 100 100 100 110 110 
			  Army 450 470 370 320 320 300 240 320 340 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 80 80 90 70 130 100 100 120 120 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 370 390 280 240 190 200 140 200 220 
			  RAF 340 330 310 340 310 310 330 360 (2)350 
			 OF-4 to OF-9 70 70 70 100 80 90 80 90 (2)90 
			 OF-1 to OF-3 270 260 240 240 240 220 250 280 (2)260 
		
	
	
		
			  Other ranks 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Services no longer required and disciplinary( 1) 1,410 1,570 1,580 1,780 1,990 1,960 2,240 2,430 (2)2,240 
			  Naval Service 120 170 240 300 300 290 270 270 270 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 10 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 110 160 230 300 290 280 260 270 270 
			  Army 1,220 1,360 1,290 1,430 1,650 1,630 1,890 2,070 1,840 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 10 10 10 0 10 0 0 10 10 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 1,220 1,350 1,280 1,420 1,640 10 1,620 1,890 2,070 1,840 
			  RAF 70 40 60 50 50 40 80 90 (2)130 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)0 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 60 40 50 50 50 40 80 90 (2)120 
			   
			  Medical( 3) 1,170 1,080 1,150 1,000 1,000 900 830 1,020 (2)1,060 
			  Naval Service 440 500 540 450 390 330 280 380 390 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 100 110 140 110 100 80 70 100 90 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 340 390 390 340 300 250 200 280 300 
			  Army 530 430 460 400 460 470 320 500 480 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 60 40 60 60 80 80 40 90 70 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 470 390 400 340 380 390 280 410 410 
			  RAF 200 150 150 150 140 100 230 140 (2)190 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 50 40 40 60 50 40 70 50 (2)50 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 150 110 110 100 90 60 160 90 (2)140 
			   
			  Redundancy( 4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)80 
			  Naval Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Army 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  RAF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)80 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)10 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2)70 
			   
			  Time Expiry( 5) 4,390 4,480 4,210 4,140 3,870 3,880 3,140 3,070 (2)3,580 
			  Naval Service 1,190 1,170 1,110 1,000 890 890 740 580 420 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 1,000 1,020 960 840 690 700 550 460 350 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 190 150 160 160 200 190 190 120 70 
			  Army 1,560 1,720 1,770 1,730 1,690 1,810 1,570 1,840 2,290 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 1,260 1,350 1,560 1,470 1,460 1,540 1,370 1,630 2,030 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 300 370 210 270 230 270 210 220 260 
			  RAF 1,630 1,590 1,320 1,400 1,290 1,180 820 640 (2)870 
			 OR-6 to OR-9 430 440 400 430 410 400 300 310 (2)380 
			 OR-1 to OR-4 1,200 1,160 930 960 880 790 520 330 (2)480 
			 (1) Includes personnel leaving due to irregular enlistment. (2) Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system for RAF, all RAF data for financial year 2005-06 are provisional and subject to review. (3) Includes all personnel who have been considered medically unfit for continued service. It should be noted however that in certain instances personnel may be willingly leaving the armed forces. (4) Figures are for those personnel who have been made redundant on compulsory terms. (5) Time expiry refers to personnel who reach the end of their engagement/commission and leave. This may include a number of personnel who do not wish to leave the armed forces but who are not transferred to a longer engagement/commission. These personnel cannot be separated from those who wish to leave the armed forces.  Notes: 1. Figures are for UK regular forces which includes nursing services and excludes full time reserve service personnel, Gurkhas, the home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. 2. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society: Combat Stress

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding has been provided from the public purse to the Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society (Combat Stress) in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 7 December 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor on 2 June 2006,  Official Report, column 37W, which includes funds from the MOD and Scottish Health Board, to the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon).
	The funding provided by MOD to the Ex-Service Mental Welfare Society in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table. Funds are provided through the War Pensions Scheme's discretionary power to meet the cost of any necessary expenses in respect of medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of ex-members of the armed forces that arise wholly or mainly as a result of disablement due to service before 6 April 2005 where it is not provided for under other UK legislation. This includes the individual costs of war pensioners undergoing "remedial treatment" at homes run by Combat Stress for conditions related to their individual pensioned disablement and of related expenses such as travel costs. Combat Stress receives separate funding from the Scottish Health Board for war pensioners' treatment at Hollybush House.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 1.2 
			 2002-03 1.5 
			 2003-04 1.6 
			 2004-05 2 
			 2005-06 2.3

Operational Allowance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the specified operational locations are for the operational allowance; and what methodology was used to identify them.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 11 December 2006
	The specified qualifying locations for the operational allowance are the geographical boundaries of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. The allowance will also be paid to personnel on board Royal Navy ships in Iraqi territorial waters and to military personnel who fly into or over one of the qualifying locations. The qualifying locations have been determined based upon military advice from the Permanent Joint Headquarters. A number of factors, including the number of serious incidents and the threat assessment, were used to assess the enduring nature of the danger in these locations.

Priory Group

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding his Department has provided to the Priory Group for  (a) psychological and  (b) psychiatric treatments in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 7 December 2006
	The Priory Group's contract for the provision of in-patient mental healthcare for Service personnel commenced on 1 April 2004. The cost of the contract so far is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 0.36 
			 2004-05 4.15 
			 2005-06 4.45 
			 2006-07( )(Spend to October 2006) 2.21 
			  Source: Healthcare Directorate, Defence Medical Services Department 
		
	
	These figures include the cost of assessing patients as well as any treatment provided. They also include costs for services provided by the Priory Group between 1 December 2003 and 31 March 2004 prior to the current contract. MOD pays the Priory Group centrally via a single contract so the figures cannot be broken down to show the amount spent on different categories of treatment.

Thermal Imaging

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to replace Sophie thermal imaging equipment.

Adam Ingram: The Sophie system provides a long-range thermal imaging capability, deployed at company level. We are currently examining options to provide a new light weight and highly portable thermal imaging capability. We also issued a new Light Weight Thermal Imaging sight at platoon level earlier this year.

Trident

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 87W, on Trident, where in the Prime Minister's statement of 4 December the information requested in Question 106409 may be found.

Des Browne: The statement on 4 December by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister summarised the conclusions of the White Paper (CM 6994) on the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent. Section 3 of that paper states:
	"In terms of their destructive power, nuclear weapons pose a uniquely terrible threat and consequently have a capability to deter acts of aggression that is of a completely different scale to any other form of deterrence. Nuclear weapons remain a necessary element of the capability we need to deter threats from others possessing nuclear weapons".
	Conventional forces cannot therefore replicate the deterrent effect of our nuclear forces. The White Paper makes clear that the investment required to maintain our deterrent will not come at the expense of the conventional capabilities our armed forces need.

UK Nuclear Stockpile

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Government have taken to reduce the UK's nuclear stockpile since the withdrawal of the WE.177 freefall bomb in 1998.

Des Browne: holding answer 7 December 2006
	Since completing the withdrawal of the WE 177 freefall bomb, we have dismantled all of the remaining Chevaline warheads which had previously been deployed on the Polaris system. We have also reduced the maximum number of operationally available Trident warheads to fewer than 200. In the White Paper published on 4 December 2006, we announced our decision to make a further reduction in the maximum number of operationally available warheads to fewer than 160.

Veterans: Mental Health

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the new community mental health service for veterans to be launched.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 7 December 2006
	The Government are committed to good mental health and well-being for its personnel, both in service and after they leave. For veterans, healthcare is primarily the responsibility of the NHS. Following recommendations on mental health services for veterans in 2005 by the independent Health and Social Care Advisory Service, officials from the Ministry of Defence, the UK Health Departments and Combat Stress have been working together to develop and implement a new community-based model for mental health services for veterans. It is hoped that, beginning in the spring of 2007, the model will be piloted at sites across the UK. The pilots are likely to last two years and, if successful, will be rolled out nationally. Demobilised Reservists are already covered by the enhanced post-operational mental healthcare programme that I announced on 21 November 2006,  Official Report, column 28WS.

Departmental Bodies

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many projects have been undertaken by the  (a) Social Exclusion Taskforce and  (b) Office of the Third Sector since it was established; what assessment she has made of the effect of each project; and if she will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Prime Minister announced the creation of the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in May 2006, to drive forward the Government's role in supporting and working with the sector. The Office brings together responsibilities that were formally in the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
	The Office has already supported the passage of the Charities Bill through Parliament; established the new Commissioner for the Compact; launched programmes to promote charitable giving, volunteering by groups at risk of social exclusion and to promote and develop a series of new measures for supporting the growth of social enterprises, as set out in our recent 'Social Enterprise Action Plan'; embarked upon of a major review of the 'Role of the Third Sector in Social and Economic Regeneration', jointly with Her Majesty's Treasury; and prepared measures for enhancing the role of the Third Sector in improving public services, which will be published in December. The longer term impact of programmes funded by the Office, such as the Futurebuilders investment programme and the youth volunteering charity v, are subject to ongoing evaluations.
	The Social Exclusion Task Force (SETF) now leads cross-government work on social exclusion. The SETF was established in July 2006 and in September 2006 the SETF published "Reaching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion". The action plan proposes a range of systematic reforms aimed at changing the way we deliver help and support to the socially excluded.
	SETF worked closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that the local government White Paper proposals were built upon and developed this approach.
	The action plan launches a series of pilots, including 10 health-led parenting support demonstration projects from pre-birth to age two, interventions for tackling mental health problems in childhood, such as 'Multi-systemic Therapy' and 'Treatment Foster Care' and alternative approaches to improving outcomes for people with chaotic lives and multiple needs. The SETF is closely involved in the development and delivery of these projects alongside other Government Departments.
	The SETF will be focusing on the delivery of the pilots by undertaking evaluations to assess the impact of the new demonstration projects.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what target her staff has for the maximum acceptable amount of time to answer parliamentary written questions; and what percentage of parliamentary answers met that target in each parliamentary session since 2001.

Meg Munn: We aim to answer written parliamentary questions within the timescales specified by Parliament which is that named day questions should be answered on the day named, and ordinary written questions within a working week.

Census

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what representations she has received in the last 12 months from  (a) the Federation of Family History Societies,  (b) the UK Centre for Census Access Studies and  (c) others on the 100 year census closure rule; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: Over the last 12 months the National Archives has received no direct representations from the Federation of Family Historians on the 100 year census closure rule.
	The National Archives has received no representations from the Centre for Census Access Studies on the 100 year census closure rule but has had Freedom of Information requests and follow-ups on the subject from an individual known to be associated with the centre.
	Since December 2005, The National Archives has answered 113 ministerial letters and 18 written parliamentary questions on 1911 census, the release of census records and the 100 year closure period.

Consultants

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which 10 consultancy fees charged to her Department since May 1997 were the most expensive.

Vera Baird: Since 1999 the 10 highest consultancy fees charged to my Department have been:
	 PricewaterhouseCoopers
	Consultancy Fee £2,162,000 (2004-05)
	Provided support for the conclusion of phase 1 of the consumer strategy project part of DCA five-year plan falling in 2004/05.
	 Deloitte MCS Ltd.
	Consultancy Fee £1,603,700 (2004-05)
	Implementation of IT Shared Services including the creation of a new DCA IT delivery organisation.
	 PA Consulting
	Consultancy Fee £1,307,196 (2005-06)
	Developed the national implementation and roll-out of the Courts Act and improvements with regard to community penalties.
	 PA Consulting
	Consultancy Fees £1,304,050 (2004-05)
	Consultancy support in relation to Courts Act Pilots data/performance analysis and identification of best practice procedures.
	 Deloitte MCS Ltd.
	Consultancy Fees £888,688 (2005-06)
	Development of a financial management function including payment mechanisms, review of payment and change management activities and creation of a new change management operational process.
	 KPMG
	Consultancy Fee £817,751 (2004-05)
	Consultancy support connected with the successful reorganisation of the DCA and subsequent transition planning.
	 Towers Perrin
	Consultancy Fee £627,893 (2005-06)
	HR Consultancy to investigate potential options to support the Transformation Programme—including Pay and Grading Project and Performance Management.
	 Barkers Advertising
	Consultancy Fee £561,458 (2005-06)
	Provision of a specialised suite of advertising material for use in future campaigns across the country by the magistrates recruitment team and local advisory committees during recruitment periods.
	 C International
	Consultancy Fee £522,000 (2001-02)
	Revenue Grant Allocation Project guidance on best practice implementation.
	 Arthur D. Little
	Consultancy Fee £504,488 (2001-02)
	Development of a financial costing model.
	Information prior to 1999 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	My Department uses consultants for the provision of expert professional advice and support on specific, time-limited tasks, usually in connection with projects, but sometimes in support of the ongoing operation of the Department.
	The levels of expenditure reflects the wide-ranging and fast-paced programme to modernise the Department's work, to increase efficiency, provide better customer service, and value for money for the taxpayer.
	Delivering such a programme, in the most effective and efficient way, has necessitated the use of external expertise and skills to supplement the Department's own resources.

County Courts: Wandsworth

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many  (a) family,  (b) injunctions,  (c) small claims,  (d) fast tracks,  (e) multi tracks,  (f) possessions,  (g) return of goods,  (h) landlord and tenant leasehold renewal,  (i) interim and final charging orders and  (j) third party debt and other enforcement cases passed through Wandsworth county court in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: holding answer 5 December 2006
	There are 18 county courts in the London civil and family business area of HM Courts Service, this includes Wandsworth county court which is located in the south west of London and has civil and family jurisdiction. The rest of the information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Family (Divorce Proceedings) 1,216 1,165 1,255 1,123 196 
			 Civil Injunctions 75 80 117 88 65 
			 Family Injunctions 385 444 393 425 73 
			 Small Claims 833 820 982 867 517 
			 Fast Track 310 436 651 583 324 
			 Multi Track 288 245 343 278 182 
			 Possessions 1,821 1,710 1,806 2,136 1,289 
			 Return of Goods 70 81 86 73 48 
			 Landlord and Tenant Renewal 176 215 43 1 0 
			 Interim Charging Orders 164 120 195 298 176 
			 Final Charging Orders 74 114 143 244 140 
			 Interim Third Party Debt Orders 112 81 72 75 38 
			 Final Third Party Debt Orders 29 18 27 18 12 
			 Warrant of Execution 601 611 521 526 263 
			 Warrant of Delivery 50 43 46 28 8 
			 Warrant of Possession 1,341 1,301 1,436 1,681 1,014 
			 Achievement of Earnings 512 520 487 571 331

Electoral Administration Act

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether local authorities will be compensated for the new burdens introduced under the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

Bridget Prentice: Local authorities in England and Wales have already been provided with funding for the new burdens introduced under the Electoral Administration Act, and more is planned.
	£19.9 million has been transferred to English local authorities in 2006-07 and £1.2 million will be transferred to the National Assembly for Wales. The same sum will be transferred in 2007-08. Additionally, the following funding will be made available:
	Up to £12.2 million for the new postal vote identifier arrangements, spread over 2006-07 and 2007-08. The exact sum will depend on the number of people on absent voter lists on 1 January 2007 and on postal voting volumes on 3 May 2007;
	£650,000 for barcode scanning equipment in 2007; and
	Up to £2.5 million per year, starting in 2007-08, for the electoral participation fund, which was established by the Act.

Freedom of Information

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the members of the Freedom of Information Users Group are; and what the declared political affiliation is of each member.

Vera Baird: Members of the Information Rights User Group are as follows:
	Ian Readhead, Deputy Chief Constable of Hampshire
	Peter Bottomley MP
	Adrian Pollitt
	Paul Bettison
	Steve Bailey
	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
	John Hipwood
	Professor Robert Hazell
	Rosemary Jay
	Maurice Frankel
	Anthony Kenny
	Bob Satchwell
	Austin Mitchell MP
	Judith Cullen
	Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner (observer)
	Lord Lester is a Liberal Democrat Peer. Paul Bettison is Leader of Bracknell Forest borough council (Conservative), Peter Bottomley is a Conservative MP and Austin Mitchell is a Labour MP.
	Information about the political affiliations of the other members is not held. The membership has been drawn solely on the ability of the group to assist Government in ensuring that public authorities are responsive to the needs of the users of both the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts and the Environmental Information Regulations. Political affiliation was not used as criteria for the selection of the user group members.

Judicial Documents

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the proposed EU development of legislation amending Regulation (EC) 1348/2000 on the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters; and what its legal base is.

Bridget Prentice: Regulation 1348/2000 provides procedures for serving legal documents issued in one European Union member state to someone in another member state. After reporting on the application of the regulation the European Commission issued a proposal to amend the regulation in June 2005. The Government have welcomed this proposal which will improve procedures including encouraging increased speed of service and introducing transparency of costs. The legal base is Article 65 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Local Elections

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what factors will be considered when evaluating value for money in assessing applications for  (a) election pilots and  (b) e-voting pilots for the May 2007 local elections.

Bridget Prentice: Predicted expenditure or savings by the authorities will be taken into account in the selection of pilots for 2007.
	Although pilots are likely to cost more per vote to implement when compared to traditional voting methods, value for money derives from what any pilot provides in terms of lessons learnt, which inform how elections can be modernised, and administrated more efficiently in the future. The maximisation of that learning against the actual monies spent is what underpins value for money considerations for any pilot or series of pilots.

Secondments

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which staff in her Department are  (a) seconded from organisations with charitable status and  (b) have (i) costs and (ii) salaries met (A) in part and (B) in whole from (1) public funds and (2) by the charity from which they are seconded.

Vera Baird: There is currently no business or other requirement for the DCA to collate this information. Basic information on secondments is recorded on the HR system but it does not identify whether organisations are charitable nor the associated funding arrangements. At present there is one individual on secondment to the Department and inquiries have shown that the organisation he is seconded from does not have charitable status.
	This excludes magistrates staff as HR systems holding these data were unavailable due to systems development activity.

Consultants

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on consultant fees in each year since 2001; how much he estimates will be spent on such fees in each year to 2010; how many contracts have been extended beyond the time period specified in the original contract; and what the length of the extension was in each case.

David Hanson: The NI Departments and the Northern Ireland Office have spent the following on consultancy fees for the period 2002-03 to 2005-06:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 12.300 
			 2003-04 15.540 
			 2004-05 15.800 
			 2005-06 16.514 
		
	
	Information in respect of 2001-02 is not available on a consistent basis and is unlikely to be ascertained even at disproportionate cost.
	The estimated committed expenditure for the period 2006-07 to 2009-10 is as follows:
	
		
			   Estimated expenditure (£ million) 
			 2006-07 26.465 
			 2007-08 14.026 
			 2008-09 4.390 
			 2009-10 3.288 
		
	
	These estimates reflect current planned expenditure including commitments of ongoing projects, Central Initiatives and Reforms, Review of Public Administration and Water Reform. The estimates for the later years are limited and additional expenditure is likely to be required as new policy issues arise. It is anticipated that ongoing expenditure will be broadly in line with previous years with an easing off on the 2006-07 position when the major reform initiatives are completed.
	59 contracts have been identified as having been extended beyond the time frame specified in the original contract, and the length of the extension in each case is detailed as follows:
	
		
			  Duration of extension  Number of contracts 
			  Day(s):  
			 1 1 
			 3 1 
			 4 1 
			 5 2 
			 6 1 
			 6.5 1 
			 7 1 
			 8 1 
			 8.5 1 
			 10 1 
			 11 1 
			 12 I 
			 16.5 1 
			 35 1 
			 46 1 
			 159 1 
			   
			  Weeks:  
			 3 1 
			 8.5 1 
			 15 1 
			 17.5 1 
			   
			  Month(s):  
			 1 2 
			 2 4 
			 3 7 
			 4 3 
			 5 1 
			 6 6 
			 7 3 
			 8 1 
			 9(1) 3 
			 10 1 
			 11 3 
			 15 1 
			 18 1 
			   
			  Year(s):  
			 1 1 
			 2.5 1 
			 (1) One still ongoing. 
		
	
	The table excludes possible extensions by three Departments as they could provide the information only at disproportionate cost.

Outreach Support

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the waiting time for children with dyslexia to receive outreach support from Beechlawn Specific Learning Difficulties Service.

Maria Eagle: Education and Library Boards (ELBs) assess and make provision for pupils on an individual basis, in line with the code of practice on the assessment of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the supplement to it. This includes the provision of appropriate outreach support for pupils who do not have a statement of SEN.
	Where such support is oversubscribed it is proper that boards establish criteria for those pupils referred for outreach support. Beechlawn Specific Learning Difficulties Service, which can support 34 pupils over the course of an academic year, is consistently oversubscribed. The SEELB apply seven criteria for support, viz:
	1. Pupil for whom the Board has a statutory duty to maintain a Statement of SEN
	2. Pupils who were on the waiting list from the previous academic year
	3. Pupils in Primary 7
	4. Pupils in Primary 6
	5. Pupils in Primary 5
	6. Pupils in Primary 4
	7. Pupils in other year groups.
	The chief executive of the SEELB has confirmed that in 2006-07 pupils meeting criteria one to five are receiving support. Pupils meeting criteria six to seven are on the waiting list for 2007.

Terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department is taking to educate the population of Northern Ireland about the threat of terrorism.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office leads on UK threat levels and on International Terrorism. Its open source website and that of the Security Service provides threat advice for the whole of the UK. In NI, the Independent Monitoring Commission reports regularly on the threat of Irish terrorism and both Ministers and the Chief Constable make regular public statements.

British Waterways

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the budget for British Waterways was in each of the last 20 years in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms.

Barry Gardiner: The following tables show the grant in aid paid by the Government to British Waterways between the financial years of 1987-88 and 2006-07.
	
		
			  Pre-devolution 
			  £ million 
			   Total government funding 
			  Financial year  Actual cash grant  Grant in real terms at today's prices 
			 1987-88 35.2 67.3 
			 1988-89 36.8 65.8 
			 1989-90 38.8 64.7 
			 1990-91 48.9 75.6 
			 1991-92 50.0 72.9 
			 1992-93 51.1 72.1 
			 1993-94 49.3 67.8 
			 1994-95 48.9 66.3 
			 1995-96 49.8 65.5 
			 1996-97 51.0 64.9 
			 1997-98 51.9 64.2 
			 1998-99 53.6 64.6 
			 1999-2000 59.0 69.7 
			 2000-01 64.9 75.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Post devolution 
			  £ million 
			   DEFRA  Scottish Executive  Total government funding 
			  Financial year  Actual cash grant  Grant in real terms at today's prices  Actual cash grant  Grant in real terms at today's prices  Actual cash grant  Grant in real terms at today's prices 
			 2001-02 61.4 69.9 8.6 9.8 70.1 79.8 
			 2002-03 71.6 79.1 9.5 10.5 81.1 89.6 
			 2003-04 76.6 82.2 14.5 15.6 91.1 97.7 
			 2004-05 59.1 61.7 13.0 13.6 72.1 75.3 
			 2005-06 62.6 64.1 12.0 12.3 74.6 76.4 
			 2006-07 55.5 55.5 10.9 10.9 66.4 66.4

Crop Spraying

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost was of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution report on Crop Spraying and the Health of Residents and Bystanders.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA does not hold this information. The cost of the report would be a matter for the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

Farm Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the proposals of EU Commissioner Mariana Fischer Boel to cap payments under the Single Farm Payment.

Barry Gardiner: Mariann Fischer Boel has not made a proposal to cap farm payments under the SFP. We expect proposals on a number of aspects of the SFP under the "Healthcheck"—and this might be one of them—although do not expect these to emerge for at least a year.
	When Franz Fischler proposed a cap of 300 000 euros in Agenda 2000 we opposed it on the basis that this would: be distorting to the industry by discouraging the adoption of sensible, market-based, business models; prove administratively burdensome; and imbalance the CAP budget by penalising yet further net contributors to the budget like the UK and Germany. Nor did we agree that capping is an effective or rational way of supporting poor farmers as it has no direct bearing on income. The solution for poor farmers is through normal social security channels and encouraging a profitable farm sector, not perpetuating a distorting CAP.

Manpower

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what percentage of staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) agencies for which he is responsible were (i) on fixed term appointments and (ii) supplied by agencies in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 5 December 2006
	The number and percentage of staff (in full-time equivalents) in DEFRA and its agencies employed on fixed term appointments is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2004  2005  2006 
			  Department/Agency  FTE  Percentage  FTE  Percentage  FTE  Percentage 
			 DEFRA 114 2 74 1 107 2 
			 CEFAS 9 2 7 1 8 2 
			 CSL 19 3 18 3 25 4 
			 GDS — — — — 0 0 
			 MFA — — — — 5 3 
			 PSD 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 RPA 496 14 368 11 287 10 
			 SVS — — 1 0 6 0 
			 VLA 35 3 26 2 38 3 
			 VMD 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Information on the number of staff supplied by employment agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Organic Milk

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much raw organic milk was sold in the UK in each of the last five years; and how much was imported from EU countries in each year;
	(2)  what incentives his Department provides to dairy farmers to produce raw organic milk for the UK market.

Barry Gardiner: By "raw", I assume the hon. Member means liquid milk rather than unpasteurised milk, which can only be sold under very restricted circumstances, so quantities would be small.
	The Government are keen to encourage the expansion of organic production and have published an action plan to develop the organic sector in England.
	The action plan aims to help UK producers meet more of the demand for organic produce, including raw milk, and seeks to increase farmers' confidence in the future prospects for organic production. In support of the action plan, and in recognition of the benefits organic farming produces for the environment, financial aid is available under the Organic Entry Level Stewardship scheme. This aid is available to existing organic farmers and those converting to organic production.
	The following table provides estimates of sales and imports of liquid organic milk from the years 2001-02 until 2005-06. Figures for 2006-07 are not currently available. However, it is expected that a limited quantity of liquid organic milk will be imported during this period.
	
		
			   Million litres 
			   Milk sold as organic  Imports 
			 2001-02 (1)137.0 0 
			 2002-03 (2)167.4 0 
			 2003-04 (2)174.9 0 
			 2004-05 (2)205.7 0 
			 2005-06 (3)201.0 0 
			 (1)Soil Association organic food and farming report 2003 (2)Soil Association organic market report 2005 (3)Forecast volume—source organic milk market report January 2006, published by the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo)

Waste Televisions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations regulate disposing of waste television sites in landfill sites.

Ben Bradshaw: Government policy is to move away from reliance on landfill and to encourage more sustainable waste management through greater reduction, reuse and recycling. There are alternative waste management options for dealing with waste television sets so we would not generally expect this type of waste to go to landfill.
	The EU landfill directive introduces requirements that aim to reduce the negative effects of landfilling on the environment and any risk to human health. The Government have transposed the requirements of the landfill directive via The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 (as amended). The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcing waste legislation in England and Wales.
	The landfill directive also requires that only waste that has been subject to treatment can be landfilled. Items such as cathode ray tubes, which are found in televisions, are classified as hazardous wastes. The pre-treatment requirement for hazardous waste has been in place since July 2004. The requirement to pre-treat non-hazardous waste comes into effect from 30 October 2007. If waste television sets are destined for landfill, they will have to meet the pre-treatment requirements.
	From 1 July 2007, waste television sets will also be subject to selective treatment requirement prior to disposal under regulations implementing the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive, which is due to come into force in early January 2007.

South East Plan Report

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason the Government commissioned Roger Tym and Partners to produce a report on the South East Plan.

Angela Smith: The Government commissioned this research to augment the evidence base for the Examination in Public. It is important to note that this is not a report on the South East Plan as suggested by the hon. Mr. Baldry. The intention in commissioning the work was to make sure that the evidence is available to inform an open and wide ranging debate at the EiP. The report has not reviewed or revised the South East Plan or developed alternatives to the plan.

Civil Partnerships Act

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of the provisions of the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 on same sex couples.

Phil Woolas: The Civil Partnership Act gives lesbian and gay couples legal recognition for their relationships and provides a legal framework of rights and responsibilities. Figures released by the Office of National Statistics show that there were over 15,000 civil partnerships formed in the UK between December 2005 and the end of September 2006.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) names,  (b) length of service,  (c) relevant experience and  (d) organisational affiliations are of the (i) current and (ii) previous members of the steering group of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.

Meg Munn: The Commission for Equality and Human Rights Steering Group was an advisory body to Government made up of key stakeholders including representatives of the equality commissions, the new equality strands and human rights, business, the TUC and Scottish and Welsh interests. Its main role was to advise on the work needed to establish the CEHR as a fully functioning organisation. It also provided a mechanism for the Government to keep stakeholders abreast of developments towards the Equality Act and seek views as appropriate. Meetings are usually held monthly.
	Details of steering group membership are given in the following table.
	The steering group members were in post for slightly more than two years, as the group was set up in September 2004 and disbanded on 17 October 2006 in light of the appointment of Commissioners for the CEHR. When it was first set up it was chaired by a senior DTI official and later by Meg Munn MP, Deputy Minister for Women and Equality.
	
		
			  Steering group members 
			  Name  Background 
			 Nick O'Brien, Director of Legal Services, Disability Rights Commission. 
			 Anne Watts OBE Member of Business in the Community—an umbrella organisation of 700 UK companies—leading its work on workplace issues. Formerly Head of Diversity and Employee Support at HSBC Bank plc. 
			 Sarah Veale Head of Equality and Employment Rights Department, TUC. Member of ACAS Council and the Government's Better Regulation Task Force. 
			 Tim Hopkins Head of Equality Network which campaigns for human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Scotland. 
			 Teresa Rees CBE Academic at Cardiff University specialising in gender inequality in fields such as education, training and the labour market. Former EOC Commissioner for Wales, long-term consultant to EC and adviser to Welsh Assembly Government in its commitment to pay due regard to equality of opportunity for all. 
			 Ilyas Patel Member DTI Small Business Council since July 2004. Involved in a number of DTI led business-think tanks and advisory committees. 
			 Hanne Stinson Executive Director of the British Humanist Association. 
			 Francesca Klug OBE Professorial Research Fellow and Director of Human Rights Futures at the London School of Economics. Speciality is the Human Rights Act and domestic human rights protection generally. 
			 Gordon Lishman OBE Director General of Age Concern England (ACE). 
			 Mohammed Aziz Founding Chief Executive Officer of Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism and British Muslim Research Centre. CRE commissioner since January 2004 and EOC Commissioner from spring 2005. Adviser to Muslim Council of Britain. 
			 Caroline Slocock Chief Executive, EOC. 
			 Faz Hakim Director of Corporate and Government Relations, Commission for Racial Equality. 
			 Ben Summerskill Chief Executive of Stonewall. 
			 Rita Donaghy OBE Chair of ACAS's Council since 2000. 30 years experience working in employment relations. Member of the Low Pay Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission Task Force and chaired the TUC Disabilities Forum. In 2004 appointed to the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Council Housing: Waiting Lists

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the change in the number of households on council waiting lists for social housing has been since 1997.

Meg Munn: 1.63 million households in England are on the waiting list for social housing. The number of households in the waiting lists was broadly unchanged from 1997 until 2001-02. There has been a significant increase in the last four years which reflects the difficulties of affordability faced by those trying to get on to the housing ladder.

Local Government Funding

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) cash and  (b) percentage change in funding was for (i) Leicestershire county council and (ii) Charnwood borough council in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows both the cash and percentage change in formula grant funding for Leicestershire county council and Charnwood borough council on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function.
	
		
			   Leicestershire 
			   Previous year's adjusted( 1)  formula grant (£ million)  Current year's formula grant( 2)  (£ million)  Change (£ million)  Percentage change 
			 1998-99 248.373 251.647 3.274 1.3 
			 1999-2000 251.647 264.453 12.806 5.1 
			 2000-01 264.452 276.012 11.560 4.4 
			 2001-02 276.429 289.179 12.749 4.6 
			 2002-03 263.700 282.285 18.585 7.0 
			  
			  Amended 
			 2003-04 298.556 317.057 18.501 6.2 
			 2004-05 307.703 329.119 21.416 7.0 
			 2005-06 331.737 354.163 22.426 6.8 
			 2006-07(3) 77.019 79.245 2.227 2.9 
			  
			  Provisional 
			 2007-08 77.777 79.877 2.100 2.7 
		
	
	
		
			   Charnwood 
			   Previous year's adjusted formula grant (£ million)  Current year's formula grant (£ million)  Change (£ million)  Percentage change 
			 1998-99 8.031 8.424 0.392 4.9 
			 1999-2000 8.424 8.568 0.144 1.7 
			 2000-01 8.568 8.768 0.200 2.3 
			 2001-02 8.833 9.375 0.542 6.1 
			 2002-03 9.223 9.619 0.395 4.3 
			  
			  Amended 
			 2003-04 9.455 10.116 0.661 7.0 
			 2004-05 9.382 9.708 0.326 3.5 
			 2005-06 9.744 10.085 0.341 3.5 
			 2006-07(3) 10.770 11.176 0.406 3.8 
			  
			  Provisional 
			 2007-08 11.129 11.579 0.451 4.0 
			 (1) The previous years' grant has been adjusted to ensure a like-for-like comparison. (2 )Formula grant comprises revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula police grant, where appropriate. (3) Prior to 2006-07, support for schools was provided by formula grant. From 2006-07, support for schools is provided by dedicated schools grant.

Public Toilets

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information she holds on the provision of public toilets in  (a) Gateshead, East and Washington, West,  (b) the North East and  (c) England; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The provision and maintenance of toilets in public places is at the discretion of local authorities who have, under section 87 of the Public Health Act 1936, a power to provide public conveniences, but no duty to do so. For this reason, the information requested is not held centrally. Figures from the Valuation Office Agency indicate the number of public conveniences open to the public between 2000 and 2004 and are set out as follows. Valuation Office Agency figures do not include information at constituency level:
	
		
			  Number of public conveniences open to the public( 1) 
			  Government office region  North East  England 
			 2000 286 5,342 
			 2002 280 5,157 
			 2003 276 4,996 
			 2004 260 4,853 
			
			 Percentage reduction 9.1 9.2 
			 (1) VGA totals given in the table show conveniences that are open to the public. They will include stand alone conveniences, and also those located in (for example) car parks and shopping malls.

Written Questions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many parliamentary written questions her Department received in each parliamentary session since 2001; and how many of these questions  (a) were not answered because of disproportionate cost,  (b) were not answered,  (c) received answers referring back to a previous answer (i) asked by the hon. Member and (ii) asked by another hon. Member and  (d) were grouped together for answer.

Angela Smith: The number of written parliamentary questions received in each parliamentary session by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and its predecessor Department the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Session  Total number of written parliamentary questions from all hon. Members  Written parliamentary questions from the hon. Member for Yeovil 
			 2002-03(1) 3,745 41 
			 2003-04 3,142 16 
			 2004-05 1,333 10 
			 2005-06(2) 6,057 51 
			 2006-07(3) 437 18 
			 (1) Figures provided are since the ODPM was formed on 29 May 2002. (2) Figures provided include the ODPM prior to 5 May 2006 and the DCLG and the Minister for Women and Equality since 5 May 2006. (3) Figures provided are for the period 15 November to 30 November 2006 for the DCLG and the Minister for Women and Equality. 
		
	
	The other information requested in the hon. Member's question is not held centrally by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Demographics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecast he has made of the population of Peterborough city council area in  (a) five,  (b) 10 and  (c) 15 years time.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding the projected population of Peterborough City Council in (a) five, (b) ten and (c) fifteen years. (107089)
	The table below provides the projected population in Peterborough City Council for 2011, 2016 and 2021. These projections are based on mid-2004 population estimates and are the latest projections available. They assume that local trends in fertility, mortality and migration over the reference period 2000 to 2004 will continue into the future.
	
		
			  Table 1: Projected population of Peterborough city council area in 5,10 and 15 years time 
			   Projected population (Thousand) 
			 2011 163 
			 2016 166 
			 2021 169 
			  Source:  Office for National Statistics, 2004-based subnational population projections

Economic Statistics: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross domestic product per head of resident population was in City of York  (a) parliamentary constituency and  (b) council area in each year since 1992.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on annual per capita GDP for the City of York by parliamentary constituency and council area in each year since 1992. (106677)
	Information on per capita GDP by parliamentary constituency and council area is not available.
	However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) do produce estimates of regional Gross Value Added(1) (GVA) using  Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) areas. City of York is a NUTS Level 3 area (generally groups of unitary authorities or districts, also known as local areas), and data was published in December 2005 for the period 1995 to 2003. Data consistent with these estimates does not exist prior to 1995. Information is shown in the table below.
	(1 )GVA is GDP less taxes plus subsidies on products.
	
		
			  Gross value added per head, York NUTS Level 3,1995-2003 
			   GVA per head, York (£) 
			 1995 12,254 
			 1996 13,109 
			 1997 14,125 
			 1998 15,003 
			 1999 15,600 
			 2000 16,159 
			 2001 16,771 
			 2002 17,608 
			 2003 18,512

Household Costs

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of annual household costs accounted for by  (a) housing costs,  (b) utility costs and  (c) food costs for households in each income decile.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the latest estimate is of the proportion of household costs accounted for by  (a) housing costs,  (b) utility costs and  (c) food costs for households in each income decile for the latest year for which information is available. (104945)
	Estimates of expenditure on housing, utilities and food, are based on the Expenditure and Food Survey (EPS), an annual survey of approximately 7,000 households in the UK. Further information on the EPS is available in the annual publication 'Family Spending' which can be found on the National Statistics website
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=361&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=272.
	The table below shows average expenditure on housing, utilities and food expressed as a percentage of total expenditure, for households in each gross income decile for 2004-05. These figures have been taken from Table A8 of Family Spending.
	The main components of expenditure on housing are rent (less housing benefit), mortgage interest payments and council tax. Some types of housing costs are excluded from the definition of total household expenditure. House purchases, including through mortgage capital repayments, and expenditure on major house alterations and improvements are both excluded. These are generally irregular, involve large sums of money, and the purchase of assets which are not consumed, and for these reasons they are not regarded as current expenditure.
	Chapter 2 of 'Family Spending' focuses in particular on housing expenditure and provides fuller information on all housing costs, irrespective of whether they are regarded as current or capital expenditure.
	
		
			  Average household spending on housing, utilities and food as a percentage of total expenditure by gross income decile group 2004-05( 1) 
			Percentage 
			decile group 
			   Lowest 10 per cent.  Second  Third  Fourth  Fifth  Sixth  Seventh  Eighth  Ninth 
			 Lower boundary of group (£ per week) — 132 205 281 375 472 579 709 885 
			 Food and non-alcoholic drinks 16 16 14 12 12 11 10 10 9 
			 Housing costs 15 16 16 19 18 18 18 18 18 
			 Rent(2) 5 5 6 6 4 4 3 2 2 
			 Maintenance and repair of dwelling 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Household insurance(3) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Moving house 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 
			 Mortgage interest, Council Tax 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 12 
			 Utility costs 9 8 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 
			 Water supply and other services 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Electricity, gas and other fuels 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 
			 Total expenditure, £ per week (= 100 per cent.) 147 178 249 313 373 436 490 568 665 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Highest 10 per cent.  All households 
			 Lower boundary of group (£ per week) 1,184 — 
			 Food and non-alcoholic drinks 7 10 
			 Housing costs 18 18 
			 Rent(2) 2 3 
			 Maintenance and repair of dwelling 2 2 
			 Household insurance(3) 1 1 
			 Moving house 1 1 
			 Mortgage interest, Council Tax 12 11 
			 Utility costs 3 4 
			 Water supply and other services 1 1 
			 Electricity, gas and other fuels 2 3 
			 Total expenditure, £ per week (= 100 per cent.) 926 434 
			 (1 )Where components do not sum to totals, this is due to rounding. (2) Rent paid on first and second dwellings and after housing benefits and rebates. (3) Includes both structural and contents insurance.  Source:  Family Spending 2004-05, ONS

Labour Statistics

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) men,  (b) women,  (c) young people and  (d) people in Tamworth were unemployed in November 1997; and how many are unemployed according to the most recent figures.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about how many (a) men, (b) women, (c) young people and (d) people in Tamworth were unemployed in November 1997; and how many are unemployed according to the most recent figures. (107010).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of unemployed people, males, females and young people (aged 16 to 24) resident in the Tamworth constituency for the 12 months ending in February 1998 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2006 from the APS. Table 2 shows corresponding unemployment rates.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 3, attached, shows the number of people, males, females and young persons (aged 18 to 24) resident in the Tamworth constituency, claiming JSA in November 1997 and in October 2006. Table 4 shows these figures expressed as a proportion of the resident population of working age.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of unemployed persons resident in the Tamworth constituency 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending  Total  Male  Female  Persons aged 16 to 24 
			 February 1998 2 1 1 (1)— 
			 March 2006 3 1 1 (1)— 
			 (1) Sample sizes are too small to provide estimates.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.  Sources: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Unemployment rates( 1)  for persons resident in the Tamworth constituency 
			  Percentage 
			  12 months ending  Total  Male  Female  Persons aged 16 to 24 
			 February 1998 4.6 2.8 6.9 (2)— 
			 March 2006 5.6 4.5 7.1 (2)— 
			 (1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population. (2) Sample sizes are too small to provide estimates.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.  Sources: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance resident in the Tamworth constituency 
			  Month  Total  Male  Female  Persons aged 18 to 24( 1) 
			 November 1997 1,492 1,056 436 435 
			 October 2006 1,232 845 387 405 
			 (1) Computerised claims only. Data rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance resident in the Tamworth constituency as a proportion of the resident working-age population. 
			  Percentage 
			  Month  Total  Male  Female  Persons aged 18 to 24( 1) 
			 November 1997 2.6 3.5 1.6 (2)n/a 
			 October 2006 2.1 2.8 1.4 (2)n/a 
			 (1) Computerised claims only. Data rounded to the nearest 5. (2 )Not available.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data

Labour Statistics

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) men,  (b) women and  (c) young people in Eastbourne were unemployed in 1996; and how many are unemployed to date in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) young people in Eastbourne were unemployed in 1996; and how many are unemployed to date in the most recent year for which figures are available. (105111)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of unemployed people, males, females and young people (aged 16 to 24) resident in the Eastbourne constituency for the 12 months ending in February 1997 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2006 from the APS. Table 2 shows corresponding unemployment rates.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA). Table 3, attached, shows the average number of people, males, females and young persons (aged 18 to 24) resident in the Eastbourne constituency, claiming JSA in 1996 and the latest year for which data are available (November 2005 to October 2006). Table 4 shows these figures expressed as a proportion of the resident population of working age.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of unemployed persons resident in the Eastbourne constituency 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending  Total  Males  Females  Persons aged 16 to 24 
			 February 1997 4 3 1 2 
			 March 2006 3 1 3 1 
			  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability.  2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Unemployment rates( 1)  for persons resident in the Eastbourne constituency 
			  Percentage 
			  12 months ending  Total  Males  Females  Persons aged 16 to 24 
			 February 1997 9.4 13.1 5.3 23.2 
			 March 2006 6.8 3.5 10.2 11.1 
			 (1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance resident in the Eastbourne constituency 
			  12 months ending  Total  Males  Females  Persons aged 18 to 24( 1) 
			 December 1996 2,706 2,063 643 600 
			 October 2006 1,518 1,119 399 365 
			 (1) Computerised claims only. Dataset rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance resident in the Eastbourne constituency as a proportion of the resident working-age population 
			  Percentage 
			  12 months ending  Total  Males  Females  Persons aged 18 to 24( 1) 
			 December 1996 5.1 7.7 2.5 (2)— 
			 October 2006 2.9 4.2 1.5 (2)— 
			 (1) Computerised claims only. Dataset rounded to the nearest 5. (2 )Not available.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data.

Planning Gain Supplement

Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of exempting higher education institutions from planning gain supplement legislation.

John Healey: The 2006 pre-Budget report announced that the Government would move forward with the implementation of planning-gain supplement (PGS), if it continues to be deemed workable and effective. PGS would be levied at a modest rate.
	The application of PGS to major infrastructure projects, to public sector works, to minerals and waste consents and to non-Town and Country Planning Act consents remains under review as part of the development of PGS.

Purchasing Criteria

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Office of Government Commerce has made of the case for applying  (a) specified weighting and  (b) priority listing to purchasing criteria used by (i) Government Departments and (ii) local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The EU procurement rules require all public sector purchasers to set out the criteria to be applied to the award of contracts over certain thresholds. Authorities may chose between two award options, 'lowest price' and 'most economically advantageous tender'. UK authorities will normally use the "most economically advantageous tender" option, which allows them to consider, besides price, a range of other value for money criteria such as whole life costs, the quality of the product or service, it's fitness for purpose and other issues linked to the subject of the requirement. This can benefit companies, including smaller companies, to be able to provide a tailored, quality product or service.
	Traditionally, the EU procurement rules have required the award criteria to be ranked in descending order of importance, to provide potential suppliers with a view of their significance. However, the updated Public Contracts Regulations, which came into force on 31 January 2006 and implement new EU procurement rules, require authorities to state the actual weightings to be applied to each of the criteria, to provide even greater clarity. Where it is not possible to do this, authorities are still required to list the criteria in descending order of importance.

Tax Credits

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in each ward in Eastbourne constituency are in receipt of  (a) working tax credit and  (b) child tax credit.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Leicester South (Sir Peter Soulsby) on 29 November 2006,  Official Report, column 735W.

Tax Credits

Alan Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are receiving working tax credits in each local authority ward in Darlington; and what the total cost was of these payments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Leicester, South (Sir Peter Soulsby) on 29 November 2006,  Official Report, column 735W.

Chinese Executions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the government of China on the abolition of the death penalty.

Geoff Hoon: We continue to lobby the Chinese government to limit, and ultimately abolish, its use of the death penalty. My noble and Learned Friend the Lord Chancellor most recently raised the death penalty with the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on 24 October. We also raised this issue at the most recent round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in July, and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, voiced his own concerns about the use of the death penalty in China during his visit in July.

Chinese Executions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of people executed in China in each of the last 10 years.

Geoff Hoon: Statistics on actual use of the death penalty in China remain a state secret, but non-governmental organisations have suggested that figures could currently be as high as 8,000 executions per year. We continue to press the Chinese government to limit, and ultimately abolish, its use of the death penalty, and improve transparency with regard to the number of people executed in China. My noble and Learned Friend the Lord Chancellor raised the death penalty with the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on 24 October. We also raised death penalty reform at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in July, and my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, voiced his own concerns about the use of the death penalty in China during his visit in July.

Departmental Computer Data

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any of her Department's  (a) computer data and  (b) computer back-up data is stored outside the United Kingdom.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) operates computer systems in posts overseas where the UK is represented (a full list of posts is available on the FCO website at www.fco.gov.uk). All data, including back-up data, is stored within, and under the control of, our overseas posts.

Fiji

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to  (a) the United Nations and  (b) Australia regarding the conflict in Fiji; and what assistance the Government are prepared to commit to ensure the continuance of democratic government in Fiji.

Kim Howells: On 28 November, the UN Secretary-General issued a statement expressing his concern over the possibility of a military coup in Fiji. On 29 November, the United Kingdom and the United States raised the situation in Fiji in UN Security Council consultations. The Security Council subsequently issued a statement urging the Fiji military to exercise restraint.
	We are liaising closely with Australian officials in Suva, Canberra and the UK. We have also met with New Zealand officials in Suva, Canberra and the UK to discuss the situation in Fiji.
	On 2 November, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, issued a statement calling for a peaceful end to the dispute. A full copy of the statement can be found on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarkct/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1161593120968%20&year=2006&month=2006-11-01&date=2006-11-02
	The FCO will continue to monitor the situation in Fiji closely.
	On 27 November, the EU issued a statement expressing concern, which we strongly supported. A full copy of the statement can be found on the FCO website at:
	http://wwv.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391638&a=KArticle&aid=l163675899734

Uganda

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the prospect of success for the peace talks between the Ugandan Government and the Lords Resistance Army.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney) gave to the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) on 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 485W.

USA: Casinos

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in her Department have held with casino operators interested in securing licences under the Gambling Act 2005 in the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Mr. McCartney) gave to him on 29 November 2006,  Official Report, column 738W.

Departmental Staff

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what change there has been in funding for  (a) gender,  (b) disability and  (c) ethnic minority personnel issues in his Department has been since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has only been in existence since 2001. We have in place a reasonable adjustment fund to help us to meet our obligations under the DDA. In 2004-05 we spent £162,785.38; in 2005-06 £235,172.80; and so far in 2006-07 £120,215.68. In addition the human resource equality and diversity team spent £34,622.78 in 2004-05; £59,333.66 in 2005-06; and £57,335.68 so far in 2006-07. The Department changed its accounting system and to provide information prior to 2004 would result in disproportionate costs.

Foundation Degree Courses

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people enrolled on a foundation degree course in each year since its inception; and what the drop-out rate was in each year since its inception.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Total number of students enrolled on foundation degrees in higher education institutions and further education colleges in England 
			   Number of students 
			 2001-02 4,255 
			 2002-03 12,415 
			 2003-04 24,485 
			 2004-05 38,210 
			 2005-06 47,215 
			  Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES) 
		
	
	Data, relating specifically to the non-completion rates for foundation degrees, are not held centrally.

Further Education Colleges

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms are in place to allocate funding to higher education provision in further education colleges, with particular reference to established set variables in the funding stream; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has a general responsibility for funding "prescribed courses of higher education" in further education colleges (FECs). HEFCE provides recurrent teaching funding for this activity at FECs using the same methodology as it uses for funding taught higher education courses at higher education institutions. Responsibility for funding other, non-prescribed, courses of HE in FECs generally rests with the Learning and Skills Council.
	From HEFCE, directly funded FECs are eligible for:
	recurrent teaching (including widening participation) grant on the same basis as HEIs;
	capital funding on an equivalent basis to HEIs. This is allocated to directly funded FECs through the HE in FE Development Fund;
	some elements of special funding. This includes, for example, Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs); National Teaching Fellowship Scheme; Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund.
	FECs may also attract funding for HE activity from other Government Departments and NDPBs.

Looked-after Children

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children are looked after children in each local authority with one or more academies; and how many and what percentage of children at each academy in each such authority are looked after children.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 27 November 2006
	Information on the number of children looked after by each local authority with one or more academies and the rate per 10,000 children is shown in the following table.
	The Department does not currently have complete information on the schools attended by looked-after children and so cannot provide the number and percentage in academies. This information may become available when the statistical collection on children looked after by local authorities is linked to the School Census in 2007.
	
		
			  Children looked after by local authorities where there is a least one academy, at 31 March 2006, England 
			   Number and rates( 1) 
			  Local authorities with at least one academy( 2)  Number of children aged under 18 years( 3)  Number of looked-after children( 4)  Rates per 10,000 children aged under 18 years 
			  England 11,048,200 13,100 12 
			 
			  North East
			 Middlesbrough 32,630 240 74 
			 
			  North West
			 Liverpool 92,830 825 89 
			 Manchester 95,045 1,460 154 
			 Salford 46,930 565 120 
			 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber
			 Bradford 124,850 830 66 
			 Doncaster 65,240 425 65 
			 
			  East Midlands
			 Northamptonshire 151,580 560 37 
			 Nottingham 56,385 415 73 
			 
			  West Midlands
			 Walsall 60,595 455 75 
			 
			  London:
			  Inner London
			 Greenwich 52,045 465 90 
			 Haringey 52,330 525 101 
			 Lambeth 54,850 660 121 
			 Lewisham 55,925 485 86 
			 Southwark 54,580 640 117 
			 
			  Outer London
			 Barnet 73,515 375 51 
			 Bexley 51,220 210 41 
			 Brent 57,750 400 70 
			 Ealing 64,980 455 70 
			 Hackney 49,595 480 97 
			 Hillingdon 57,835 635 109 
			 
			  South East
			 Kent 309,520 1,360 44 
			 
			  South West
			 Bristol, City of 79,300 600 75 
			 (1) To ensure that no individual can be identified from statistical tables, conventions have been used for the rounding and suppression of very small numbers. At national level, numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. At local authority level, numbers have been rounded to the nearest five, and numbers from 1 to 5 inclusive have been suppressed, being replaced in the published table by a hyphen "-".  (2) Based on those academies open at January 2006.  (3) Source: ONS, Population Estimates Unit, Estimated resident population mid 2005 by single year of age.  (4) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.

Pupils with Learning Difficulties

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in mainstream education have a learning difficulty.

Parmjit Dhanda: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary, secondary and special schools( 1) : number and percentage of pupils by type of need( 2)  as at January 2006, England 
			   SEN pupils by their primary type of need( 2,3) 
			   Primary schools( 4)  Secondary schools( 4) 
			   School Action Plus  Statement of SEN  School Action Plus  Statement of SEN 
			  No. % No. %(5) No. %(5) No. %(5) 
			 Specific learning difficulty 31,310 13.4 3,340 5.1 28,340 18.4 13,750 18.6 
			 Total SEN pupils 233,710 100.0 64,860 100.0 153,650 100.0 73,840 100.0 
			 (1) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (2 )Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with a statement of SEN provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate their secondary need. Information on primary need only is given here. (3 )Excludes dually registered pupils (4 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (5 )Number of pupils by their main need expressed as a percentage of all pupils at School Action Plus or with a statement of SEN.  Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 
		
	
	Figures relating to pupils with specific learning difficulties at "School Action Plus" and those with a statement of SEN are included in the table. There will be other pupils with SpLD at "School Action" where adjustments to the curriculum are made within school. We do not collect data on pupils at "School Action" with SpLD.

School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils received free fruit in Eastbourne constituency in each year since 1996.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	The school fruit and vegetable scheme (SFVS) did not start in the south east region until late 2004. We break down information by local authorities rather than constituencies, east Sussex commenced the SFVS on 12 October 2004 and there are 15,718 pupils receiving fruit in this authority. This number has remained fairly constant since the scheme began, and will vary each school year depending on intake.

University Admissions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from Stroud constituency  (a) were allocated university courses and  (b) received student loans to attend university courses in each year since 1996-97.

Bill Rammell: Available data for Stroud parliamentary constituency for academic years 1996-97 to 2005-06 are given in the table.
	
		
			  Academic year  Number of students( 1)  Students eligible for an income-contingent loan( 2) 
			 1996-97 2,209 n/a 
			 1997-98 2,246 n/a 
			 1998-99 2,265 n/a 
			 1999-2000 2,293 n/a 
			 2000-01 2,389 n/a 
			 2001-02 2,455 n/a 
			 2002-03 2,464 n/a 
			 2003-04 2,553 n/a 
			 2004-05 2,521 1,885 
			 2005-06(3) n/a 1,860 
			 (1) Figures are for students domiciled in the Stroud parliamentary constituency. They are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December and are rounded to the nearest five. Figures cover total student numbers on full-time and part-time undergraduate courses, excluding students on writing up, sabbatical and dormant modes of study. (2) Figures are for students domiciled in the Stroud parliamentary constituency and numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. (3) Provisional  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for student numbers and Student Loans Company (SLC) for students eligible for a loan. 
		
	
	Data specifically on students from Stroud receiving a loan are not available, therefore numbers of applicants eligible for a loan have been provided. Numbers of students in receipt of a loan will be slightly lower than those applicants eligible for a loan.
	Constituency level data on student loans are only available since the introduction of the Student Loans Company's protocol system in 2004-05.
	Figures for student numbers for 2005-06 will be available in January 2007.

Youth Employment

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of  (a) 16 to 18,  (b) 17 and  (c) 18-year-olds are not in education, employment or training in each region.

Phil Hope: The Department's estimate of the number and proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) cannot be disaggregated to regional level. However, we can give an indication of the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET from data provided by Connexions services, and this is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Young people not in education, employment of training—November 2005 
			   Age16 to 18  Age 17  Age18 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 South East 14,620 5.6 5,964 6.2 4,806 5.1 
			 London 18,011 8.1 6,930 8.5 6,991 8.5 
			 East of England 13,452 7.3 5,209 7.6 5,010 7.7 
			 South West 9,112 5.6 3,495 5.9 3,285 5.6 
			 West Midlands 17,407 9.4 6,531 9.6 6,618 9.9 
			 East Midlands 9,553 6.6 3,656 6.9 3,426 6.6 
			 Yorks and Humber 16,827 9.3 6,598 9.7 6,163 9.5 
			 North West 20,256 8.0 7,739 8.3 7,611 8.3 
			 North East 10,781 11.5 4,009 11.6 4,390 12.7 
		
	
	It should be noted that the NEET figures in the table are calculated on a different basis from that used in the Department's estimates, and therefore do not lead to the same totals.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department each year since 2001-02; and how many civil servants received bonuses in each year.

Anne McGuire: The answer is in the following table.
	DWP was formed in 2002 and information for performance bonuses is only available for the Department from this date.
	Performance bonus payments are awarded to employees on the basis of their individual performance. They are paid after the completion of the performance year. The expenditure incurred is as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: Amount paid in performance bonuses to DWP staff since 2002 and the numbers of staff receiving bonuses 
			  Financial year  Total paid (£ million)  Number of employees receiving bonus 
			 2002-03 21.17 131,747 
			 2003-04 25.29 106,123 
			 2004-05 38.61 129,855 
			 2005-06 42.82 123,285 
			 2006-07 40.68 116,096 
		
	
	In addition to individual performance bonus payments, DWP also paid team bonuses to selected units within the Department. The expenditure incurred is as follows:
	
		
			  Amount paid in team bonuses to DWP staff since 2002 and the numbers of staff receiving bonuses 
			   Total paid (£ million)  Total number receiving bonus 
			 2002-03 7.8 14,000 
			 2003-04 29.4 40,000 
			 2004-05 3.3 11,250 
			 2005-06 (1)— (1)— 
			 2006-07 (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) Not applicable. Notes: 1. The information in Table 1 is based on the numbers of staff recorded on the DWP payroll systems as having received a qualifying performance mark. These are a headcount.  2. The performance bonus is paid in the financial year following the performance year of 1 April to 31 March.  3. Some individuals may have received more than one type of bonus payment in any given year, which is why the information has been presented separately, and not as an aggregated total.  4. The numbers of employees receiving a team bonus are approximations. No team bonus schemes have run since 2004-05. 
		
	
	Individuals may also be entitled to special bonus payments. The cost in a typical year for these bonuses is around £3 million with payments made to approximately 17,000 individuals (based on 2005-06 payments).

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what liaison he authorises the Child Support Agency to have with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to ascertain whether heavy goods vehicle drivers have current licences and thereby investigate their current employment status.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what liaison he authorises the Child Support Agency to have with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to ascertain whether heavy goods vehicle drivers have current licences and thereby investigate their current employment status.
	Section 14 of the Child Support Act 1991 provides the power for the Secretary of State to require specified person to provide information. The associated Regulation specify persons employed by the Crown under the Road Traffic and Vehicle Excise and Regulation Acts as having a duty to provide information to allow us to trace Non Resident Parents.
	The Agency currently has a Service Level Agreement with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to provide information to aid the tracing of Non Resident Parents. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database holds information on all vehicles registered within the United Kingdom including heavy goods vehicles.
	The Agency provides the vehicle registration details and the name of the Non Resident Parent they wish to trace, to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. They in turn check their records and where possible, match the information with any identical entries held, and report data to the Child Support Agency.
	We can then use this information in checking the current employment status of Non Resident Parents, and to approach employers in support of a maintenance calculation.
	I hope you find this response helpful.

Social Security Benefits: West Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in West Chelmsford constituency were in receipt of incapacity benefit in each year since 1996.

Anne McGuire: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the West Chelmsford constituency 
			   Number 
			  May  
			 1996 2,200 
			 1997 2,400 
			 1998 2,100 
			 1999 2,000 
			 2000 2,040 
			 2001 2,120 
			 2002 2,240 
			 2003 2,260 
			 2004 2,360 
			 2005 2,470 
			 2006 2,430 
			  Notes: 1. The parliamentary constituency figures for the years 1996 to 1999 have been produced using the 5 per cent. data and have been rated up proportionally using the Great Britain WPLS 100 per cent. IB/SDA totals. 2. From 1996 to 1999, figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. From 2000 onwards figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. "Claimant" figures include all IB and SDA (including IB credits only cases).  Source: DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. Samples from 1996 to 1999 and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data thereafter.

Winter Fuel Payments

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of extending the eligibility for winter fuel payments received by those over 60 to  (a) those in receipt of the higher or middle rate of disability living allowance care component,  (b) those in receipt of the support component of ESA and  (c) those receiving the severe disability premium or enhanced disability premium.

James Purnell: The estimated annual cost of extending the eligibility to winter fuel payments to people aged under 60 in receipt of the higher or middle rate care component of disability living allowance is £210 million. To extend the payments to people aged under 60 in receipt of the severe disability premium or the enhanced disability premium the estimated cost is £70 million. We cannot give an estimate for extending the payments to those who will receive the support component of ESA when it is introduced in 2008 as we are still developing the eligibility criteria and cannot currently estimate the number of people likely to receive this component.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures rounded to the nearest ten million.
	2. Figures are for 2006-07.
	3. Costs have been calculated using the DWP Budget 2006 forecast.

A and E Departments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of accident and emergency patients in England had a trolley wait of over four hours in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the percentage of patients not placed in a bed in a ward within four hours of a decision to admit commonly referred to as a 'trolley wait' is reported by national health service trusts quarterly. During the period July to September 2006 there were 4,892,547 attendances at all types of accident and emergency department, of which 752,049 were subsequently admitted.
	Of those admitted patients, it was reported that 1.4 per cent. were not placed in a bed in a ward within four hours of a decision to admit being made.

Adhesive Arachnoiditis

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will include adhesive arachnoiditis on the NHS list and codification of medical conditions.

Caroline Flint: National health service (NHS) standards for the coding of medical conditions include terminologies, for example the read codes and SNOMED clinical terms, which support point of care recording in an electronic health record, and statistical classifications, which support business requirements and epidemiology. The former consequently often provide more specific differentiation than the latter.
	Within SNOMED clinical terms, in whose establishment as an international classification the NHS in England has led the world, adhesive arachnoiditis can be distinctly represented, and all versions of the read codes support a representation of arachnoiditis.
	With regard to classifications, the mandatory recording and reporting of diagnostic information for an episode of admitted patient care in the NHS in England is determined by the World Health Organisation's International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems—Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Adhesive arachnoiditis is accommodated within ICD-10 classification codes, but there is no mechanism for distinguishing "adhesive arachnoiditis" from other forms of "arachnoiditis".

Cancer Treatment

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on cancer care in each of the last five years; and how many new consultant posts in cancer care have been created in this period.

Rosie Winterton: We do not hold information centrally on levels of funding spent on cancer care for each of the last five years, however we do have information for the three years to 2005-06. £3.4 billion was spent on cancer care in 2003-04 and this increased by 12 per cent. each year to £3.8 billion in 2004-05 and £4.3 billion in 2005-06.
	Over the last five years the number of consultant posts in cancer care increased by 30 per cent. from 3,528 to 4,593 (an increase of 1,065).
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services (HCHS): All consultants within the six main cancer specialties by specialty and year, at 30 September each year, England 
			  Number (headcount) 
			Of which: 
			   All six main cancer specialities  Clinical oncology  Clinical radiology  Haematology  Histopathology  Medical oncology  Palliative medicine 
			 2000 3,528 307 1,585 527 865 133 111 
			 2001 3,721 333 1,645 556 915 147 125 
			 2002 3,913 315 1,702 588 968 185 155 
			 2003 4,169 347 1,810 609 1,021 202 180 
			 2004 4,381 392 1,876 637 1,083 201 192 
			 2005 4,593 438 2,014 648 1,094 215 184 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census.

Fostering and Adoption Agencies

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which approved fostering and adoption agencies have a religious ethos; and how many placements were made by each such agency in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	While the Government are aware that some registered independent fostering agencies and adoption societies are faith based, information about religious affiliation is not collected by the registration body, the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
	Children are placed for adoption by local authorities. Information about the identity of the adoption agency which approved the prospective adoptive parents of such children is not collected.
	Looked after children may be placed with foster carers, whose approval will have been undertaken either by local authorities or independent fostering agencies. We do not collect information about the number of fostering placements made through individual agencies.
	The following table sets out the number of looked after children who were placed for adoption or with foster carers at 31 March between 2002 and 2006:
	
		
			  As at 31 March  Placed for adoption  Placed with foster carers 
			 2002 3,600 39,200 
			 2003 3,400 41,100 
			 2004 3,600 41,200 
			 2005 3,400 41,300 
			 2006 2,900 42,000 
			  Source:  Children Looked After in England (including Adoptions and Care Leavers), 2005-06 Table 1: Statistical First Release (Department for Education and skills).

Fostering and Adoption Agencies

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had on the possible impact of the Sexual Orientation Regulations on fostering and adoption agencies with a religious ethos which refuse to place children for adoption with homosexual couples.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	Departmental officials have attended a number of meetings at which this issue was discussed. In addition, I spoke at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adoption and Fostering on 1 November 2006 where the issue of the proposed Sexual Orientation Regulations was raised by the group.

Hospital Infections

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the efficacy of air purifiers as a mechanism for combating hospital infections; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 11 December 2006
	The rapid review panel (RRP) has reviewed 22 air decontamination products. From these 22 products:
	 Two were awarded a recommendation 2:
	Basic research and development has been completed and the product may have potential value; in use evaluations/trials are now needed in an national health service clinical setting.
	 Eight received a recommendation 3:
	A potentially useful new concept but insufficiently validated; more research and development is required before it is ready for evaluation in practice.
	 Six received a recommendation 4:
	Not a significant improvement on equipment/materials/products already available which claim to contribute to reducing health care associated infection; no further consideration needed or unlikely to contribute to the reduction of health care associated infection; no further consideration needed.
	 Five received a recommendation 5:
	Insufficient clarity/evidence presented to enable full review of the product; and
	 One received a recommendation 6:
	An already well established product that does not merit further consideration by the panel.

Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation HPV sub-group will next meet.

Caroline Flint: It is planned that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation subgroup on human papilloma virus will next meet on 28 February 2007.

Influenza

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people over 65 in  (a) Wantage constituency,  (b) Oxfordshire and  (c) the South East have received an influenza vaccination in the past 12 months.

Caroline Flint: Vaccine uptake data is not collected by constituency and hence we do not have data for the Wantage constituency. We have provided influenza vaccination uptake data in people aged 65 years and over for the primary care trusts (PCTs) in Oxfordshire in table 1.
	The vaccine uptake data given for the end of January 2006 is that for the 2005-06 seasonal influenza programme. The data given for the end of October 2006 is the data recorded so far for the current vaccination programme. We expect vaccination rates for the current programme to increase in the coming months.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  As at end of  Primary care trust  Uptake (Percentage) 
			 January 2006 North East Oxfordshire 82.0 
			 January 2006 South East Oxfordshire 78.8 
			 January 2006 South West Oxfordshire 80.6 
			 January 2006 Oxford City 77.8 
			
			 October 2006 Oxfordshire(1) 33 
			 (1) The merger of primary care trusts in 2006 mean that there is only one pct for Oxfordshire. North East Oxfordshire, South East Oxfordshire, South West Oxfordshire and Oxford City are now known as Oxfordshire primary care trust. 
		
	
	Vaccination uptake data is also provided for the South East Strategic Health Authority is shown in table 2. The vaccine uptake data given for the end of January 2006 is that for the 2005-06 seasonal influenza programme. The data given for the end of October 2006 is the data recorded so far for the current vaccination programme. We expect vaccination rates for the current programme to increase in the coming months.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  As at end of  Strategic health authority  Uptake 
			 January 2006 South East 76 
			 October 2006 South East(1) 31 
			 (1 )24 pcts have now merged to form 8 pcts in the South East SHA.

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library copies of the minutes of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation meetings within a month of each meeting.

Caroline Flint: The minutes of Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are published within three months of a meeting-taking place. The publication schedule for JCVI is available at: www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/jcvi/foi_classesofinformation.htm#4 and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the  (a) psychiatrists and  (b) organisations which have made representations to her expressing their support for the Mental Health Bill.

Rosie Winterton: The Government have consulted widely over eight years on changes to mental health legislation and has listened to the views of a broad range of stakeholders.
	Work began on reviewing the current mental health legislation, the Mental Health Act 1983, in 1998, with the establishment of an expert committee. Since then, there has been a Green Paper, a White Paper, a Consultation Draft Bill in 2002, and a Draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in 2004. There has also been widespread consultation on the so-called Bournewood safeguards. Consultation has shown this is an area where it is difficult to reach a consensus. As such there are both psychiatrists and organisations who support the Mental Health Bill, as well as those who oppose aspects of it.
	The Government are confident that the Mental Health Bill which is currently before Parliament strikes the right balance between patient rights and protecting both patients and the public from harm.

Ministerial Visits

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times she has visited health services in Surrey.

Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Ms Hewitt) has not visited health services in Surrey. My noble friend the Minister of State (NHS Reform) Lord Warner visited health services in Surrey in November 2006 and February 2004, and the Minister of State (Delivery and Quality) (Andy Burnham) visited health services in Surrey in June 2006.

MRSA

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many products to tackle MRSA the Rapid Review Panel has given Level one recommendation to; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Rapid Review Panel has given three products a recommendation one. Of these three products, two products ChloraPrep and Bardex IC—silver alloy coated hydrogel catheters, are related to the control of MRSA. Details are published on the Health Protection Agency's website at
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/rapid_review/default.htm

MRSA

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA infections were reported in hospitals in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: The number of Meticillin Resistant Staohylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections, (bacteraemia reports) for each of the last five years is set out in the table.
	
		
			   Number of MRSA bacteraemia 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 7,291 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 7,426 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 7,698 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 7,233 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 7,087 
			  Note: Data subject to change—this table correct as at publication date of 24 July 2006.   Source:  Health Protection Agency, 24 July 2006.

NHS IT Programme

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of the new NHS IT programme has been to date, broken down by  (a) main budget heading and  (b) type of recipient of funding.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is in the table
	
		
			  Cost of the national health service IT programme 
			  Programme area  Contractor  Expenditure to 31 October 2006 (£ million) 
			 Spine BT 296.8 
			 N3 broadband network BT 212.5 
			 Choose and book core contract Atos Origin (SchlumbergerSema) 31.4 
			 London LSP BT CCA 2.7 
			 North East LSP Accenture 82.8 
			 NW/W Mids LSP CSC 170.4 
			 Eastern LSP Accenture 94.6 
			 Southern LSP Fujitsu 27 
			 Total  918.2

Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures complainants should follow when complaining about a particular NHS consultation before complaining to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 11 December 2006
	National health service organisations have a statutory duty to consult patients and the public when proposing service changes.
	Any person affected by or likely to be affected by the action, omission or decision of an NHS body may make a complaint to that body under the NHS complaints procedure. The complainant would need to be able to demonstrate how they would be affected by that action, omission or decision. If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint at local level, the complainant may request the Healthcare Commission to consider the complaint. If still not satisfied, the complainant may request that the Health Service Commissioner considers the complaint.

Pseudamphistomum Truncatum

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what warning she has issued to general practitioners about the possibility of the spread of Pseudamphistomum truncatum to humans.

Caroline Flint: There are no plans to issue any warning to General Practitioners on this issue. Both the Department and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have reviewed the available evidence of risk to human health through the joint Human and Animal Infections Risk Surveillance Group, coordinated by the Health Protection Agency, and concluded that exposure to the metacercarial stage that is infectious to man is likely to be rare and confined to those who handle or consume the parasite in raw fish. Ongoing parasitic surveys of wild fish have revealed no evidence of P. truncata in any fish species in the UK.

Seasonal Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her latest estimate is of the proportion of patients in each of the groups whose health is deemed at risk from seasonal influenza who have received their seasonal influenza immunisation for the 2006-07 winter.

Caroline Flint: The percentage of people vaccinated in each clinical risk group as at the end of October 2006 is shown in table 1:
	
		
			  Table 1: Flu vaccine uptake by end October 2006 
			   Percentage 
			  Under 65 years of age and in a medical risk group  
			 Chronic respiratory disease 14 
			 Chronic heart disease 20 
			 Chronic renal disease 13 
			 Chronic liver disease 9 
			 Diabetes 26 
			 Immunosuppression 11 
			   
			  Those aged 65 and over 34 
			  Source:  Provisional national uptake data to the end of October has been collected by the Health Protection Agency. This data is collected on a monthly basis. The October figure is based on the response of 6,011 out of 8,475 GP practices in England. Weekly update data from "spotter practice" surveillance scheme . 
		
	
	 QResearch
	Data from Qflu, a weekly "spotter practice" surveillance scheme shows that by 27 November, flu vaccine uptake for those 65 years and over was 60 per cent. in England.
	 Source:
	QResearch.

Sexual Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when her Department expects to launch the £50 million advertising campaign to tackle the rise in sexually transmitted infections announced by her predecessor on 26 November 2004;
	(2)  what the total cost is of her Department's sexual health campaign launched on 11 November 2006;
	(3)  for what reasons her Department's sexual health campaign, launched on 11 November 2006, targets 18 to 24 year olds only.

Caroline Flint: Improving the nation's sexual health is a key Government priority and the Department launched its new adult sexual health campaign, Condom Essential Wear, on 9 November 2006.
	The budget for this campaign is currently approximately £4 million this financial year. This is a significant level of funding, which has enabled us to produce an effective, integrated multi-media campaign targeting some of the hardest to reach young people who are most at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.
	Condom Essential Wear, which involves TV, radio and press advertising backed by extensive public relations, partnership marketing, web and digital activity, primarily targets 18 to 24-year-olds who engage in sexually risky behaviour and who statistically are among the most at risk of contracting STIs. It has been developed on social marketing principles, which means it starts from the position of the consumer with the aim of bringing about long-term positive behavioural change.
	It is one of three current Government campaigns working to improve sexual health and reduce teenage pregnancy, complementing the Department for Education and Skills's teenage pregnancy campaigns R U Thinking aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds and Want Respect? Use a Condom aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds. This integrated communications approach enables us to effectively target young people across the age groups.

Smoking Ban

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when an announcement will be made on the date for implementation of the ban of smoking in public places.

Caroline Flint: The Government announced on 1 December that the smokefree provisions within the Health Act 2006, which will make virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces smokefree, will be implemented at 6 am on Sunday, 1 July.

Urologists

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many urologists were working in the NHS in each of the last eight years.

Rosie Winterton: The number or urologists employed by the national health service in each of the last eight years is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Medical staff working in the urology specialty by grade and year—England as at 30 September each year 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   1995  1996  1997  1998  1999 
			 All Staff 778 809 879 961 1,024 
			 Consultant 314 315 343 358 388 
			 Associate Specialist 9 12 15 18 22 
			 Staff Grade 25 28 37 61 71 
			 Registrar Group 151 162 169 169 198 
			 House Officer and Foundation Programme Year 1(1) 91 93 104 127 114 
			 Senior House Officer 139 152 174 192 194 
			 Hospital Practitioner/Clinical Assistant 49 47 37 36 37 
			 Other — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Number (headcount) 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 All Staff 1,052 1,115 1,164 1,223 1,355 1,371 
			 Consultant 382 427 448 473 503 500 
			 Associate Specialist 24 25 27 33 47 58 
			 Staff Grade 86 81 87 80 95 89 
			 Registrar Group 201 204 208 234 279 285 
			 House Officer and Foundation Programme Year 1(1) 126 126 122 122 131 132 
			 Senior House Officer 199 207 228 247 263 281 
			 Hospital Practitioner/Clinical Assistant 34 45 43 34 37 26 
			 Other — — 1 — — — 
			 (1) The Foundation Programme Year 1 grade was introduced in 2005 Copyright © 2006, The Information Centre, Medical and Dental Workforce Census. All rights reserved. This work remains the sole and exclusive property of The Information Centre and may only be reproduced where there is explicit reference to the ownership of The Information Centre.

Welfare Foods

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children whose fourth birthdays fall after 1 September 2006 and will not attend school until September 2007 will not as a result be eligible for tokens for the welfare food scheme.

Caroline Flint: From the 27 November 2006, Healthy Start will provide vouchers that can be used to purchase Healthy Start foods for children in qualifying families, until their fourth birthday. Previously, the welfare food scheme provided milk tokens to eligible children up to their fifth birthday.
	It is estimated that approximately 120,000 children aged four and under five are affected by this change. The number of children eligible to receive Healthy Start vouchers at any one time will fluctuate according to the number of families receiving qualifying benefits.
	Children aged four and under five attending registered day care for more than two hours per day may be entitled to one third of pint free milk per day. In addition, some children aged four in nurseries attached to LEA schools will also be eligible to receive free fruit through the school fruit and vegetable scheme.

West Devon Meat

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will make representations to the Food Standards Agency to ensure that the investigation into West Devon Meat is resolved as quickly as possible to allow operations to resume; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will make representations to the Meat Hygiene Service to ensure that the investigation into West Devon Meat is concluded as quickly as possible to allow operations to resume; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency has advised that the case has been referred by the Meat Hygiene Service to the agency's investigation branch. A thorough investigation will be carried out as rapidly as possible in line with the agency's legal standard for investigations.
	The case concerns West Devon Meats approval to slaughter cattle aged over 30 months and does not affect any other part of the company's business.

Assets Recovery Agency

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the completed cases handled by the Assets Recovery Agency in  (a) each complete financial year since it commenced operations and  (b) 2006-07.

Vernon Coaker: The number of cases concluded by the Agency in  (a) each financial year since its establishment in 2003 and  (b) 2006-07 is set out in the following table.
	The Agency publicises all its completed cases unless there are exceptional reasons (e.g. legal or operational) that prevent this. The Agency's website contains details of all cases that are in the public domain. It would be disproportionately costly to produce a list of completed cases.
	
		
			  Assets Recovery Agency: completed cases 
			   Number 
			 2003-04 0 
			 2004-05 21 
			 2005-06 47 
			 2006-07(1) 28 
			 (1) Provisional figures to end of November 2006.

Chaplaincy Staff

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many publicly funded full-time equivalent chaplaincy staff there were in the Prison Service in 2005-06, broken down by religion; what the cost was of chaplaincy staff in 2005-06; what estimate he has made of the costs in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and whether he has made an assessment of the merits of providing equivalent pastoral support for those who are not religious and who may not wish to receive such support from a religious chaplain.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of directly employed chaplaincy staff is contained in the following table. Information on the present and projected costs is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Chaplaincy Teams are available to provide pastoral support to prisoners and staff, both to those who have registered in a particular religion, and to those who have not. There are a wide range of other services and provision for those who do not wish to receive support from a chaplain including the personal officer scheme, prison visitors and listeners.
	
		
			  Number of directly employed chaplaincy staff 
			  Religion  Full-time equivalent staff 31 March 2006 
			 Christian 219.5 
			 Muslim 26.0 
			 Hindu 1.0 
			 Total 246.4

Children and Young People: Crime

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of financial hardship among children and young people on crime.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on risk factors associated with victimisation and with offending (including household income) is published as part of the results of the Offending Crime and Justice Survey, and the Youth Lifestyles surveys, copies of which are available from the Library of the House or from the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/offending_survey.html. In particular the report of the Youth Lifestyles Survey (HORS 209) p21-22 discusses social class and offending, and employment and offending. The OCJS 2004 main report Appendix D refers to "living in households in financial difficulty" as a general risk factor for victimisation for young people, findings 245 also identified this as a risk factor for committing antisocial behaviour.

Community Justice Projects

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the performance of North Liverpool and Salford community justice projects.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 December 2006
	Both the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre and Salford Community Justice Initiative are being evaluated by independent consultancy firms. The final evaluation reports for both projects are due by the end of February 2007.
	The evaluations will look at the impact of the projects on reducing fear of crime and increasing community confidence in criminal justice system (CJS); increasing compliance with sentences; increasing victim and witness satisfaction in the CJS; and increasing involvement of the community in the CJS. The evaluation will also draw out lessons which will be applied to the design and implementation of the 10 new community justice projects announced in a written ministerial statement by my right hon. Friend Harriet Harman and the Lord Chancellor on 27 November 2006,  Official Report, column 78WS.

Criminal Assets

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the proposed EU development of legislation concerning the confiscation of criminal assets; and what its legal base is.

Joan Ryan: There has been work under title VI of the treaty on European Union to adopt two legislative instruments. The Council Framework Decision 2005/212/JHA on confiscation of crime-related proceeds, instrumentalities and property requires member states to have in place at a national level measures to enable them to confiscate instrumentalities and proceeds from criminal offences. It was adopted with particular regard to articles 29, 31(1)(c) and 34(2)(b) of the TEU.
	The Council Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to confiscation orders puts in place a mechanism for the cross-border recognition and execution of confiscation orders. It was adopted with particular regard to articles 31(1)(a) and34(2)(b) of the TEU.
	No further legislation is planned at this time in the area of Justice and Home Affairs but work is also ongoing under title V TED to promote the confiscation of assets belonging to banned terrorist groups.

Cyclists

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cyclists have been prosecuted for highways offences in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The following table shows data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of prosecutions for offences connected with pedal cycles.
	
		
			  Number of cyclists proceeded against for highway offences at magistrates courts, England and Wales, 2001 to 2005( 1,2,3) 
			   Total proceeded against 
			 2001 760 
			 2002 636 
			 2003 732 
			 2004 831 
			 2005 893 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The data supplied in the table comprise various offences connected with pedal cycles. The three offences with the most offenders proceeded against are: (a) Riding on footpath. (b) Taking or riding a pedal cycle without consent etc. (c) Lighting and reflector offences.

DNA Database

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who have been arrested but not charged or cautioned for any offence have their DNA profile stored on the National DNA Database; and what proportion of these people are from each ethnic minority background.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 23 November 2006
	Data on whether persons with a profile on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) have been charged or cautioned for an offence is not held on the NDNAD, but is held on the Police National Computer (PNC). The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by cross-searching approximately three million records retained for such persons on the PNC.

European Day of Civil Justice

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the proposed developments at EU level of the Annual European Day of Civil Justice; and what its legal base is.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The European Day of Civil Justice is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the Council of Europe agreed in 2003 and held on 25 October each year. Events are organised throughout Europe with the aim of raising the profile of civil justice issues and systems to make them more accessible and to enable citizens to be more aware of their rights arid to know how to enforce them.
	Within the United Kingdom there have been court open days, events organised by the legal profession and a conference during the UK presidency of the EU on practical approaches to solving cross-border disputes. While Articles 61(c) and 65 of the treaty establishing the European. Community set out the legal bases for legislative activity in the field of civil justice, no specific legal base is required in the treaties for this initiative.

Gun Crime

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many gun crimes were committed in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) Gloucestershire in each of the last 15 years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 27 November 2006
	Available data from 1990 up to and including 2004-05 are given in the following tables.
	Gloucestershire's figures from 1990 to 1996 include those involving air weapons.
	
		
			  Table (a): Crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales and Gloucestershire( 1)  in which firearms were reported to have been used, 1990 to 2001-02 
			   England and Wales  Gloucestershire 
			 1990 6,843 (1)— 
			 1991 6,665 (1)— 
			 1992 7,243 (1)— 
			 1993 7,730 (1)— 
			 1994 6,002 (1)— 
			 1995 5,866 (1)— 
			 1996 6,063 (1)— 
			 1997 4,904 23 
			 1998-99(2) 5,209 22 
			 1999-2000 6,843 21 
			 2000-01(3) 7,470 23 
			 2001-02 10,023 89 
			 (1) Figures exclude offences involving the use of air weapons. From 1990 to 1996 Gloucestershire police were unable to provide figures for offences excluding air weapons. (2) There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998. (3) Numbers of some recorded crimes may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b): Crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales and Gloucestershire in which firearms were reported to have been used, 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   England and Wales  Gloucestershire 
			 2002-03(1) 10,248 92 
			 2003-04 10,338 108 
			 2004-05 10,964 87 
			 (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Human Trafficking

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) incidents of and  (b) prosecutions for child trafficking there were in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Data on of the numbers of children and unaccompanied minors trafficked into the UK for each year since 2000 is not centrally recorded.
	To address this lack of data, the Government have commissioned the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to scope the scale and nature of child trafficking into the UK.
	The most up-to-date information provided to the Home Office by the Crown Prosecution Service indicates that at least 12 defendants have been charged in three separate cases that involved female victims between the ages of 15 and 18. Of these 10 were convicted and received lengthy sentences.

Identity and Passport Service

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to the Identity and Passport Service on ensuring full and immediate notification of passports stolen in other EU countries.

Joan Ryan: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has issued no such instructions to Identity and Passport Service (IPS) because we already have adequate procedures in place for reporting British passports lost or stolen in other EU countries.
	New reporting arrangements were introduced by IPS on 8 December 2003 for the reporting of loss or theft of a British passport to IPS by members of the public. Subsequent developments to this process allowed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (F&CO) to send electronic reports of loss and theft, of a passport overseas, to IPS. This functionality commenced in 2004 as part of an IT program undertaken by the F&CO.

London Underground: Security

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what security measures are in place in relation to the vetting of workers on the London Underground.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 5 December 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	Given the open nature of the underground system, the Department requires London Underground's nominated security contacts to be security vetted prior to receiving sensitive security information. London Underground's background checking procedures for potential employees are fully compliant with Government recommended standards and have been set up following advice from the Security Service's National Security Advice Centre.
	London Underground and its contractors are required to comply with the requirements of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, which requires employers to check that individuals are entitled to live and work in the UK. London Underground also request details of the applicant's previous five years employment history and referees for that period and, when appropriate, they also request the disclosure of unspent criminal convictions and use the Government Security Vetting arrangements.

Mentally Ill: Homicide

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of homicides in each of the last 10 years were committed by people with a treatable mental disorder under the Mental Health Act 1983 against one of their relations.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 5 December 2006
	The requested data relate to offences currently recorded as homicides and are based upon table 2.06 of 'Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/05' (HOSB 02/06). Available information relates to homicides where the principal apparent circumstance was considered to be an
	'irrational act carried out by apparently insane or disturbed suspect',
	referred to in the above mentioned publication as
	'mentally disturbed suspect'.
	The Home Office also publishes annual data about persons managed under Mental Health Act powers, including those convicted of homicide. Latest published figures are in 'Statistics of Mentally Disordered Offenders 2004' (HOSB 22/05) which states that, in 2004, there were 99 homicide convictions resulting in suspects being detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983. However, these figures cannot be broken down to show the relationship between victim and suspect.
	
		
			  Offences currently( 1)  recorded as homicide, England and Wales 1994 to 2004-05 
			  Recorded crime 
			   1994  1995  1996  1997  1997-98  1998-99 
			 Number of homicides currently recorded 632 663 585 609 608 646 
			 Apparent circumstances = 'suspect mentally disturbed'(2) 46 39 36 42 39 28 
			  Of which:   
			 Victim's relationship to principal suspect = 'relation'(3) 29 13 19 26 20 14 
			 Percentage 63 33 53 62 51 50 
		
	
	
		
			  Recorded crime 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Number of homicides currently recorded 674 771 804 953 793 820 
			 Apparent circumstances = 'suspect mentally disturbed'(2) 22 15 32 42 40 30 
			  Of which:   
			 Victim's relationship to principal suspect = 'relation'(3) 10 8 17 17 17 14 
			 Percentage 45 53 53 40 43 47 
			 (1) As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) In a very small number of cases the circumstances of a homicide could be classified into more than one category and an assessment been made of the principal circumstances. Offences included here relate to circumstances considered to be 'irrational act carried out by apparently insane or disturbed suspect'. (3) Includes son/daughter, step-son/daughter, parent/step-parent, spouse/cohabitant ex/estranged spouse, ex-cohabitant, other family. Excludes lovers and homosexual relationships.

Mentally Ill: Homicide

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of homicides were committed in each of the last 10 years  (a) where the victim was unknown to the assailant and  (b) by people with treatable mental disorders under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 5 December 2006
	The requested data relate to offences currently recorded as homicides and were published in table 2.06 of 'Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005' (HOSB 02/06). Available information for  (b) relates to homicides where the apparent circumstances of the offence involved a mentally disturbed suspect committing an irrational act.
	
		
			  Offences currently( 1)  recorded as homicide, England and Wales 1994 to 2004-05 
			  Recorded crime 
			   1994  1995  1996  1997  1997-98  1998-99 
			 Number of homicides currently recorded 632 663 585 609 608 646 
			
			 Victim relationship to principal suspect = 'stranger'(2) 230 252 219 225 223 246 
			 Percentage 36 38 37 37 37 38 
			
			 Apparent circumstances(3) = 'suspect mentally disturbed' 46 39 36 42 39 28 
			 Percentage 7 6 6 7 6 4 
		
	
	
		
			  Recorded crime 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Number of homicides currently recorded 674 771 804 953 793 820 
			
			 Victim relationship to principal suspect = 'stranger'(2) 311 356 397 554 397 416 
			 Percentage 46 46 49 58 50 51 
			
			 Apparent circumstances(3) = 'suspect mentally disturbed' 22 15 32 42 40 30 
			 Percentage 3 2 4 4 5 4 
			 (1) As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) Includes where insufficient information to determine relationship. (3) In a very small number of cases the circumstances of a homicide could be classified into more than one category and an assessment been made of the principal circumstances.

Northamptonshire Police

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the performance was of  (a) Northamptonshire police force and  (b) the average of all similar forces on (i) burglary, (ii) car theft, (iii) criminal damage and (iv) assault for (A) January to June 2005, (B) June to December 2005 and (C) January to June 2006.

Tony McNulty: The latest available information by police force area is to March 2006. In response to the request, data for the periods (A) January to June 2005 and (B) July to December 2005 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Recorded offences for selected offence groups 
			   January to June 2005  July to December 2005 
			  Burglary   
			 Northamptonshire 5,154 5,033 
			 Average most similar forces 5,687 5,740 
			
			  Car theft   
			 Northamptonshire 1,629 1,398 
			 Average most similar forces 1,832 1,806 
			
			  Criminal damage   
			 Northamptonshire 8,408 7,979 
			 Average most similar forces 12,677 12,142 
			
			  Assaults   
			 Northamptonshire 4,226 4,142 
			 Average most similar forces 7,028 7,409 
			  Notes 1. Most similar forces are Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. 2. Assault comprises less serious wounding (codes 8A and 8D), assault on a constable (code 104) and common assault (codes 105A and 105B). 3. Car theft comprises theft of and aggravated theft of a motor vehicle.

Personal Sampling

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to police forces on the retention of personal samples of individuals who are arrested but not subsequently charged with any offence.

Tony McNulty: The Association of Chief Police Officers issued guidance to Chief Officers on the consideration of applications for the deletion of DNA samples, fingerprints and a record on the Police National Computer earlier this year, entitled 'Retention guidelines for nominal records on the Police National Computer'.
	The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Andy Burnham, made a written ministerial statement on the guidance on 16 February 2006 and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Police

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults on police officers there have been in each police force in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 30 November 2006
	Offences of assault on a constable were added to the recorded crime series on 1 April 1998.
	From 1 April 2002 assaults on a constable include only assaults involving no injury (assaults with minor injury are included in less serious woundings) following a change of definition of this offence category.
	Information prior to that 1 April 1998 is not available.
	Data for the period 1998-99 to 2005-06 are given in the tables.
	
		
			  Recorded offences of assaults on a constable 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Avon and Somerset 294 305 312 319 
			 Bedfordshire 180 258 210 241 
			 Cambridgeshire 228 216 238 251 
			 Cheshire 599 522 483 554 
			 Cleveland 100 93 133 206 
			 Cumbria 222 212 145 204 
			 Derbyshire 394 610 571 634 
			 Devon and Cornwall 629 628 646 646 
			 Dorset 190 270 287 403 
			 Durham 925 1,032 1,077 1,248 
			 Dyfed-Powys 238 266 261 308 
			 Essex 274 410 352 352 
			 Gloucestershire 181 252 261 206 
			 Greater Manchester 1,510 1,891 1,905 1,972 
			 Gwent 419 530 641 505 
			 Hampshire 480 578 636 688 
			 Hertfordshire 259 257 304 387 
			 Humberside 454 523 509 538 
			 Kent 637 722 620 635 
			 Lancashire 768 973 1,239 1,366 
			 Leicestershire 168 213 315 337 
			 Lincolnshire 268 223 178 218 
			 London, City of 41 37 30 39 
			 Merseyside 826 1,237 1,429 1,361 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,595 1,401 1,367 1,269 
			 Norfolk 339 457 405 439 
			 Northamptonshire 337 392 331 305 
			 Northumbria 851 1,018 1,171 1,176 
			 North Wales 226 298 445 434 
			 North Yorkshire 362 508 426 449 
			 Nottinghamshire 440 433 477 543 
			 South Wales 708 720 868 893 
			 South Yorkshire 307 756 923 785 
			 Staffordshire 651 690 748 661 
			 Suffolk 176 245 255 297 
			 Surrey 193 209 266 223 
			 Sussex 672 760 891 1,120 
			 Thames Valley 451 826 802 1,254 
			 Warwickshire 228 286 258 259 
			 West Mercia 503 640 587 768 
			 West Midlands 1,818 2,606 3,234 3,811 
			 West Yorkshire 1,165 1,388 1,488 1,503 
			 Wiltshire 204 224 276 288 
			 England and Wales 21,510 26,115 28,000 30,095 
			  Note:  The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Recorded offences of assaults on a constable (includes British transport police from 2002-03) 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Avon and Somerset 405 534 728 849 
			 Bedfordshire 343 313 326 288 
			 Cambridgeshire 281 260 354 425 
			 Cheshire 617 724 311 359 
			 Cleveland 314 236 280 287 
			 Cumbria 181 183 214 218 
			 Derbyshire 848 399 131 129 
			 Devon and Cornwall 671 430 411 329 
			 Dorset 494 330 422 292 
			 Durham 1,078 181 276 305 
			 Dyfed-Powys 344 225 252 210 
			 Essex 498 578 648 673 
			 Gloucestershire 275 191 247 296 
			 Greater Manchester 2,016 796 1,053 1,134 
			 Gwent 595 316 279 239 
			 Hampshire 976 1,008 1,007 919 
			 Hertfordshire 449 702 589 626 
			 Humberside 754 439 439 445 
			 Kent 851 755 688 703 
			 Lancashire 1,536 814 878 765 
			 Leicestershire 447 432 488 464 
			 Lincolnshire 281 160 178 195 
			 London, City of 45 34 56 54 
			 Merseyside 1,651 979 772 682 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,908 2,796 3,399 3,000 
			 Norfolk 549 444 451 403 
			 Northamptonshire 353 305 329 272 
			 Northumbria 1,608 588 576 621 
			 North Wales 550 246 233 188 
			 North Yorkshire 582 274 342 424 
			 Nottinghamshire 452 509 582 320 
			 South Wales 1,032 700 706 488 
			 South Yorkshire 689 434 480 421 
			 Staffordshire 792 525 651 632 
			 Suffolk 362 321 400 327 
			 Surrey 288 413 503 485 
			 Sussex 1,089 625 698 788 
			 Thames Valley 1,527 709 821 880 
			 Warwickshire 310 233 240 257 
			 West Mercia 845 523 376 298 
			 West Midlands 2,817 360 365 338 
			 West Yorkshire 1,695 634 840 832 
			 Wiltshire 345 269 248 140 
			 British Transport Police 205 262 340 356 
			 England and Wales 33,948 22,189 23,607 22,356 
			  Note:  The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. Assaults include only assaults involving no injury. Assaults with minor injury are included in less serious woundings, following a change of definition in April 2002.